Nathan's P90X blog

Week 8: Chest and Back, Plyometrics

2010-03-11T18:04:00.001-08:00

I feel reborn again after thoroughly hating phase 2 for the most part (if you couldn't tell by my infrequent postings). The workouts just aren't as well developed, in my opinion, as the first. Round 3 alternates between what you did in the first phase and the second.

No surprise that after a lackluster recovery week that saw me get a jaw infection, I started this week feeling bloated and miserable. It's amazing that after only a week of high carbs, low protein that I would retain this much water and weight gain. The scale said I gained 3 pounds in a little more than a week. However, the combination of working out hard, eating good and sunshine has got me back on the wagon. I know I've relapsed many times, but there's still time to prove that p90x can be an effective program (and also why it falls short in some areas).

You see whereas I was highly motivated to do the program in phase 1, by phase 2 it had started to get old to me. The whole muscle confusion thing is almost completely smoke and mirrors: every exercise you do is still muscular or aerobic endurance without fail. Changing from divebomb pushups to plyo pushups isn't a large jump. It would be more "muscle confusing" if in the second phase you suddenly started doing heavy weight, but I digress. Tony's voice has become from annoying to teeth pulling, and the frustration kicked in. I'm surrounded by weight lifters, and now I'm afraid my lifts have plummeted. Certainly although I've become more efficient in the workouts and am more athletic, I'm not stronger. Counter this with despite some hiccups, I've busted my ass and have only slight fat loss to show for it. Is it really the depriving diet that's the key? If so then count me out. I can stand low carb but no carb is out of the picture. But me, being stubborn as hell, has to see this thing to the end.

No surprise that not doing this particular workout for a month that I would see no real gains from the last time I did it. That's not really a big issue with me, though. If I haven't stressed this enough, the improvements workout wise you get from p90x are mainly due to muscle memory, weight loss and an increase in endurance. This is not due to strength, muscle or power gains. Case in point: despite not being able to outdo my week 3 numbers, I was a lot less gassed while doing them. I also added a run outside in the morning because its finally above freezing up here. Ab Ripper X was a little harder than normal, but I attribute this to coming off of painkillers from the forementioned infection. Same with plyo.

As it stands now I still feel there's time to get to my goal of breaking under 180. I don't eat religiously but I'm avoiding sneaky calories, binge eating, high carbs and high fat. Protein's my only real concern: if I can achieve 150+ grams a day without eating burgers and fried chicken, then I'm probably going to be alright. School food is a struggle because things you think are light can actually be calorie laden. One example is a so called good 4 u wrap: the thing has 900 calories by itself (more than a big mac with fries). But by using IM techniques, I'm cutting out quite a bit of calories without shutting down my metabolism. Before my emotional wellbeing tanked on my recovery week and barely got through the 3 core syns, the scale was going down so I know my process was working.

For now I'm in the driver's seat again. As long as I can stay mentally sane and happy, I'm all set. P90x goes from a snap to scrap if you become discouraged. If after the final 4 weeks I see marked improvements, I might continue the fat loss for a little while longer before I jump back into muscle gain. Either way the process has been incredibly enlightening, and I know so much more than where I started. I'm rambling again, so that's where I'll end it tonight.

Weeks 7 and 8 Recap

2010-03-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Whoaaa, its been awhile since my last post. I really have a hard time taking the recovery week seriously. That meant no yoga this week, only core syn (twice) and cardio. My diet also basically sucked again for the past couple days. These last 4 weeks I'm going to try to knockout and then go from there. At this point I've gotten pretty tired of the program but I'm sticking with it till the end.

Week 7: Plyometrics

2010-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

"Jesus...I mean JEEPERS!" Tony Horton

Advice: listen to them when they say don't eat right before plyo. Although I still had a tremendous workout I cramped up pretty badly. Didn't stop me from completing it, though (minus rock star jumps, theres still no way). Onwards to tomorrow's chest and tris!

Week 7: Back/Bis and Ab Ripper X

2010-02-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to think I should just call beachbody and tell them that p90x's order for phase II would be improved by switching back and bis to monday. Seriously, it makes a huge difference. My rep and weight counts were the highest for the workout yet (a theme for the third week in a phase). This could be because I'm back at my school's gym which is far superior to the rec center's near my house, but I'm more inclined to think that its the combination of muscle memory and proper recovery. Also, I'm hoping that the fact the workouts are getting easier is a tribute to me getting leaner, which would be a miracle considering I ate pretty crappy over vacation. Never the less, through p90x I'm going forward not backward.
Really today's only setback was a light hand strain, so I had to stop two sets short of the full workout. No matter because my back was waxed and my bi's swollen (seriously its one of the best pump workouts I've ever done). Another round of ab ripper x (I've got all of Tony's lines unfortunately grafted in my brain by now) and I was good. The difference lately is that I'm no longer scrambling for breath, even with increased reps.
Today I also ate totally legit. I've gone back to trying to get as much protein as possible without too much fat, carbs and most importantly calories in the IF time frame. Its 9:30 and I'm not starving or craving anything. But monday-thursday I'm not worried about. If I can tame the weekend monster, then I'll feel like a breakthrough is happening. The sky will truly be the limit after that.

Rest of Week 6

2010-02-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

Whoops, seems like I'm getting a little lazy at this. Switching chest/tris with back/bis was a good idea. By the time friday rolled around I was able to crank through pullups, whereas a week before I did two sets before having to quit the back portion altogether. I got through each workout this week, although it was a little bit of going through the motions. Here's hoping week 7 is better.

Rest of Week 5 Recap/Progress Pics

2010-02-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

So I realize its way past day 30 but I figured it was time to show some comparison pics. OK, this is about as bad as it gets for consistency but hear me out. As you can see, I'm way tanner on the left than the right. That's because I mistakenly just chose a photo from this summer instead of taking a true day 1 photo. Beyond the creepy identical pose, its tough to get a grasp on what p90x has done thus far. No, it didn't make my nipples shrink, I guess I was freezing when I took the day 30 pic.
If I had done an actual day 1 photo, then there would be more discrepancy in the changes made. I had a physical job in summer and stayed active up until school. In contrast I had pretty much slid to rock bottom before starting p90x (described in earlier posts). To see that despite being pasty white I have slightly improved definition in my abs and a smaller waist, and a slightly less flabby chest is great. Thus I know that what I look/feel like now is a definite improvement over December.
However, the pictures don't lie, either. Although I'm not one of those people who expect dramatic shifts in short time frames, I know I could be better than where I'm at now. It really comes down to dieting. I've compained about what I eat in almost every post, but thats where it lies. I started out thinking the opposite: that if I killed every workout, I could eat moderately decent and become super lean. For dipping in to those sub 10 percent body fat levels, that couldn't be more wrong. For all the flack I give the p90x nutrition plan, I still wish I could follow it. Not just from an ego standpoint but succeeding in their guidelines would almost have certainly kept me away from slipping, which I've done every weekend since about week 2. IF has helped, but I still need more protein and to stay away from crappier foods.
These pictures are a wake up call: if I can for the next couple of weeks buckle down and stick to the script, I should start seeing better results. I already feel better, now I just need to look better.

Week 5 Day 4: Yoga X/Cardio

2010-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Blahhhh, yoga. I got through over an hour, still don't have the drive to get all the way through yet. The burn is good and I sweat but not nearly like the other routines. I added HIT at the end and that more than compensated. I will admit some poses like the Crane are redic. Maybe I'll be able to do the hardest poses one day, but flexibility and balance are the least important on my ladder of fitness. IF continues to keep me satisfied and I'm not overfeeding at any point. I try to get as much protein as possible for each meal, and not worry about the rest since none of it is processed stuff. Other people doing p90x treat their diet plan as end all be all, but its flawed. With this new strategy, hopefully this leads me to a 2 pound reduction by wednesday. I'll have to use a different scale so I won't put too much stock in the numbers but I figure if I keep the sizes of my meals down but protein packed, I'm going to hit that deficit and the fat will finally disappear.
I did take some day 30 photos, but I might wait until I return home to take some more for better comparison. I do notice some difference in my stomach, but not enough. Of course its only been a little past a month and I haven't dieted the way I should, so I'm confident day 60 will be a bigger jump. My body feels a lot better and that's enough for now.
Tomorrow is legs and back, which I'm a little sketched out about since my back is still pretty tired. Also nervous since its a one week break in school for me. I'm confident that I can hit every workout no problem (no doubles though) but leery on the eating. I've had about 3 bad weekends in a row and I know that's whats holding me back. I must be more disciplined, dammit!

Week 5 Day 3: Doubles Back and Biceps/Ab Ripper X

2010-02-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

When I woke up this morning I wasn't as hungry as I thought I'd be. I proceeded to go to the gym and weighed myself: a cool 182. That's 6 very unofficial pounds since the pre-p90x days. Of course I'd attribute most of the difference in a. weighing myself on empty stomach in morning vs. midday on two different scales, b. fluid balance and c. cutting back on booze. That's not to sell myself short because the person I am now vs. who I was when I started this are two different people physically (somewhat mentally too). I certainly wasn't dedicated enough to hit the gym regularly, let alone twice a day. Doing cardio on an empty stomach is an interesting experience, since the lack of glycogen makes you feel sluggish to start with before the body starts using fat for fuel. I'm not one of those people who puts in a meticulous 30 minute HIT routine either, so I was there over an hour.
I went back at 4 to hit back and biceps. I'm getting fully sick of pull up variants by now but the workout resulted in some of the best bicep pumps I've ever felt. My arms felt like exploding, which is great. There was less variation than with chest, shoulders, tris in that a lot of the exercises were just borrowed from other routines. Not exactly muscle confusing. Then again there's nothing confusing about ab ripper x but it kicks my ass every time.
One thing I noticed is that in Phase II, legs and back are friday which means I'll be doing back twice in less than 48 hours. I'm going to try it just because, but don't be shocked if I switch it to either saturday, or back and bi's to mondays. Overtraining is a legitimate concern with p90x and it seems a really poor oversight these aren't spread out like they were in phase 1.
Unfortunately I have vacation next week, which I'm afraid will screw up this good system I've finally got down. IF could be the answer for me. It wasn't really the restriction of carbs or the lower calories, but spreading out such spindly meals over a long period of time. As long as I watch myself I can increase the portion sizes, but because of less frequency = more fat loss. It seems counter-intuitive but with bigger meals I simply feel fuller longer. Waiting till 1 to eat isn't as bad as eating half a chicken breast with broccoli and following it up with almonds 3 hours later.
Again the composition of my diet hasn't changed at all (south beach diet type figures) but its physical effect is night and day. I know p90x wants me eating nothing but lean meats and vegetables but at school that's virtually impossible. I'm really hoping for 180 next week. As long as I don't feel like binge eating, the only obstacle is the school cafeteria's variety and getting enough protein. Sometimes that many variables become deceptive so if this new approach isn't showing results, than I have no choice but to count calories. Blah. Worst case scenario. Doing that means you're a slave to your diet and I hate that feeling.
Whoops, sorry for rambling. As you can see, even those its 5 weeks plus the starting date, I'm still learning and trying new strategy all the time. Hopefully this blog can be of use to someone in a similar situation. Until then I guess I'll get to dream about yoga x! :) just kidding I hate yoga

Week 5: Day 3: Plyometrics and IF

2010-02-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

Man oh man, as Tony constantly says. Plyo never gets easier, even if I can push myself harder. I took it a little carefully as my left foot is splitting, but I still went real hard. My abs are pretty burnt from ab ripper and now my legs feel like jelly to go on top of it. It's a good feeling, though. Besides the first week where I hadn't done exercise of any kind for a few weeks, I haven't experienced bad DOMS or nagging pains. Knee and shoulder pains are the most common from p90x and besides a little tightness in my shoulders, I'm feeling pretty good. My right leg still feels stiff; I can't believe its taking this long to heal but it's not bad enough to really affect performance.
Today I also decided to try a new diet technique. Intermittent Fasting, or IF for short, is basically eating only during an 8 hour window. So for example my first meal is at 1 and the last ends at 9, and for the 16 hours after, nothing. I'm trying it because I need to jumpstart eating at a caloric deficit and the p90x guidelines just aren't that helpful in getting me there. This way I'm eating 3 meals a day, which sounds sacriligious to those accustomed to the 5-6 small meal deal but hear me out. Those 3 meals aren't giant square meals, and they are all based on the pre and post workout window. The only real large meal is the post workout meal packed with carbs and protein. The other two are slightly larger than what I was eating in that 5-6 meal frame but no more than 500 calories. This pretty much guarantees me eating at a deficit without starving or neglecting food groups. I wasn't tempted to eat junk, I didn't get bad mood swings and I didn't binge. They recommend low carb intake on non workout days, which I'm going to try out on thursday (yoga) and sunday.
It's funny because I'm used to going without food for only a few hours, but I'm actually less hungry. Sometimes on those smaller meals, you'll eat say a few ounces of nuts and a couple pieces of cheese, but end up feeling more hungry just by eating it. By the time I start feeling somewhat hungry again, its 11 and almost bed time anyways. I've never been a huge breakfast eater anyway, so it works out so far. I never really crave anything in the morning hours either, so the slight hunger pains are tolerable. It also forces me to drink more water during the day which is good.
We'll see if this system produces results but it might be the answer. Why eat when you don't want to? That never made sense to me. Eating a good breakfast might keep you from overeating at lunch, but that's about it. Starvation, in America, doesn't exist for us. I'm sorry but unless you are a bodybuilder, your body's demands just aren't that strong to need sustanence every few hours. There's a lot of research that shows the body is meant to fast, and there's not much research showing smaller, frequent feedings are necessary. The only thing I have to concern myself with now is portion control, and not stuffing myself. P90X, I've improved you! I had the technology!

Week 5 Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps and Ab Ripper X

2010-02-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

Phase II is here, and just when I was getting used to the chest and back gauntlet, here comes the new kid on the block: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. In my opinion the chest and triceps exercises are even more difficult than their previous iterations, with shoulders being about equal. I was actually impressed that most of the exercises were new, which lead for new challenges. A couple were an absolute doozy (pylo push ups, one armed push ups, pike press to name a few) and really stretched my will power and crushed my ego. Watching Tony fly through these things and still run his mouth the whole time is agitating, but impressive. Believe me, when you see him fly up midair and clap when doing a push up you'll hate him more, but respect him more too. The only real complaint I have with the routine (besides the fact that the only chest moves to date are push up variants, seriously no presses at all?) is that they save the hardest and most complex exercises towards the end. Strength conditioning rule 101 is that you should always perform the most technically demanding exercises first (after warmed up) when you are the freshest. I'm taxed before having to do push ups one handed, so how am I not going to struggle with form? Suck it, Tony.
Ab Ripper at the end is always a backbreaker. I'm beginning to think that no matter what you're condition this beast simply will never feel easy. I underestimated it at first because I used to do it either way after the first workout, or on a day coupled with kenpo or yoga. I can get around 20 reps for most of the exercises, but can't come close to touching the 349 platinum medal rep count. That's okay because my abs are pretty spent. It's funny because when I used to work abs with machines and weights and low reps, they were always sore the next day but not during the workout. In this case, its the opposite. No cardio today. I'm actually trying to rest my foot for pylometrics because I've got a huge blister still healing on it and I don't want to tear it. That's real pain for those unexperienced.
Before I forget, let me backtrack to last week one more time. I forgot to mention that I did yoga x twice (a first) and got through a good deal of it, but have still yet to go through the whole video. I might try it this thursday and just skip cardio for that day, we'll see. I want to see what its like to attempt it all and what the feeling is. I get a good stretch and a decent burn from holding the static poses, but you all know my critiques of it already. I've also yet to do x stretch, replacing it with a cardio activity of some type. I'll try it on my rest day this saturday if I remember just to see how it is. P90x rest days are sunday but I play basketball sunday so I switched the days (basketball for kenpo, more than a fair trade I'd say). One last note, I believe that tomorrow is the 30 day mark, which means a third of this is over. Yay!

Rest of Week 4 Wrap Up

2010-02-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

Well, phase I is now officially over. Its been a crazy 30 plus days for sure. The recovery week was a little mentally draining because its repetitive, and its still pretty tough to complete. Its not a true rest by any means. At the end of Sunday I felt mixed emotions. On one hand I can certainly tell that P90x has been beneficial. Not just from increased reps (thats more due to practice than actual muscle growth) but physically and mentally feeling just better. Even in my balky right leg I have strength and balance that wasn't there before. Maybe there's something to yoga and core work after all.
Because the only true strength workout was core synergistics, I upped the cardio some. I hadn't done a true run in weeks so I thought that I would be pretty winded. Wrong. I had great bounce in my legs and my lungs were like a machine. I played four full quarters of basketball without bench rest, and didn't pass out. All in all, my body feels fantastic.
Alas, I did mention the mixed feelings. Eating great according to p90x guidelines continues to be a struggle. I was only able to stay on the no/low carb bandwagon for a week before fallout. Unfortunately school food is a monster when it comes to this. Even foods you think are low carb (chicken, tuna, pork) are somehow suspiciously packed with carbs. I can stay disciplined through the week, but I haven't been able to defeat emotional eating yet. In periods of intense stress or anxiety, I relapse and go to junk. Its been three weekends straight where either I've indulged when emotions were high, or been to a party where I just couldn't say no to peer pressure. And once there, its like all or nothing. If you damage control and just have a little, its not a big deal but unfortunately I haven't been able to do that yet.
I understand fully that the diet is by far the hardest part of p90x, or any program for that matter. And I mean diet in a caloric deficit, not eating balanced. No one likes feeling hungry, or pidgeon holed into eating certain types of food. I know people that are absolutely ripped, but their meals consist of nothing but chicken breasts, protein shakes, eggs, and cottage cheese. That's it, seriously. They won't go out if it means throwing off that schedule at all. I'm never willing to go that far (putting your health above looks is a topic for a different day) but nonetheless I feel defeated when I can't stick to a diet plan. Furthermore I know I'm not getting definitive results mostly due to eating habits. For example I went to the gym 7 times this week, every day except saturday. That's a lot, but the effects are hindered if I'm not taking in less than maintenance.
OK, enough of the pity party. I know what I have to correct and again I'm going to try. I've got 60 days left until the end and I'm not giving up now. Thankfully the last of the celebrations, the Super Bowl, is over. I know I can't in my current situation eat perfectly low carb, but I can reduce my amount and eat at a caloric deficit without feeling ill or sick. In fact, on the days I eat junk free, lots of salad, lean meats, some whole grains, etc. I feel incredible. No bloat, gas, fatigue, depression, nothing really. The days of the strength routines are also the easiest to eat well because they give you such a boost.
Once I get my hands on a camera, I'll upload the 30 day pics for comparison. I weigh myself on Tuesdays so hopefully I can still lose some weight yet. I've actually been able to slowly reduce my weight since the start, despite not even eating that great. I'm not going to do measurements until day 90. Phase II starts with some brand new routines, so that's something to look forward to. Never give in, never surrender!

P.S. congratulations abound for the Saints in their first ever Super Bowl victory. I'm a Patriots fan so watching Peyton Manning single handedly blow the game was all my ego needed this week. In fact I'm afraid to think of what would have happened if the Colts had won. I might have given up p90x altogether. Just kidding, but its a thought anyway.

Week 4 Day 2: Core Synergistics

2010-02-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I had absolutely no idea going in what the hell core synergistics was. I knew that it must work core muscles in some way so I thought that it might just be a recovery version of ab ripper x. I'm glad to say this isn't the case and it was actually in the same vein as the main workouts and just as difficult. It's basically everything rolled into one. There's workouts for abs, chest, shoulders, hip flexors, etc. I sweat like a bastard on this routine. It was on the shorter side in comparison to other workouts but had the most exercises to date (no repeats unlike the others). Some of the exercises were more complicated and involved complex movement for multiple muscle sets, which was nice. All and all it was a pleasant surprise.

I ate a lot better today as well. Tuesday is my busiest day but the time crunch actually improved my diet. For the first time in a while I can say I ate truly low carb and hopefully I can keep it up because I want that scale to move down, dammit! The progress pics aren't far away now and I don't want them looking exactly the same as the pre photos.

I'm supposed to do kenpo tomorrow, but instead I'm doing a doubles of cardio, one in the morning and one in the evening. I've pretty much relegated to the fact that the only time I'm going to do kenpo is at my house if there is a snowstorm and I can't get outside. Even then, you won't get me to like it.

Week 4 Day 1: Yoga X

2010-02-02T18:23:00.001-08:00

The start of the dreaded recovery week wasn't actually too bad. I got through more of the yoga x than normal before going off and sweating to death in basketball. I haven't really explained it in too much depth but the routine builds as you go on. It starts off with one pose, then a new one followed by the one you just did and keeps adding that way basically. I tried a new technique in that after a few rounds I focused on just holding the new poses instead of doing downward dog a thousand times. I'm getting the stretch and balance of the more advanced poses without taking so long. Plus the cardio I'm doing at the second half of the workout more than makes up for the decrease in movement. I think its a good system, and with yoga on the docket two more times this week this is the format I'll stick to. Another reason is that I can't really hold the most advanced of the poses yet, so this gives me more practice instead of high reps of ones I can already do well. However I might try it the conventional way on the weekend at home to give my legs more of a break, and to see how it feels to do the complete video. We'll see. I weighed myself today at around the same time that I did last tuesday and am a half pound lighter. That doesn't seem like much but after a few days of shitty eating that's not bad. Today I ate adequately, no junk but probably a little too much in total. I'll make it up tomorrow.

Rest of Week 3 wrap up

2010-01-31T17:51:00.000-08:00

Relaxing on yoga the previous weeks made yoga x my most challenging workout yet. Most of it is mental because its the one I enjoy least. The rest of the workouts have helped me limber out some but since I have little familarity with the routine, its a struggle. I got through about an hour before I decided to add in some cardio. I did a lot better with legs and back, but again I skipped kenpo and x stretch for sports. Eating was decent through the week but a struggle this weekend. Thankfully party season for me is about over as there's nothing left to celebrate (except for the 90 day end of course!)

Next is the recovery week. Core synergistics I haven't even watched so I have no idea what to expect. Other than that the focus is yoga so I'll give that routine more effort this week for certain. I'm also going to get as much physical activity as possible seeing as how there's no real strength workouts this week. Going forward I'm going to really try to limit the calories, as I know that's been a problem lately. The 30 day pics are coming up so I'm shooting for notable difference. Here's hoping for the best!

Week 3 Day 3: Shoulders and Arms/Ab Ripper X

2010-01-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

Today was a lesson in time management. When I got to the gym I had a little less than 2 hours to fit in this routine and ab ripper, so the result ended up being I was going faster than the videos. Let me tell you friends, that's not recommended. My arms are incredibly sore and my shoulders stiff from rushing from set to set with basically no rest. I skedaddled through ab ripper at the end although it still ended up being a doozy and I finished with just enough time to go. Doesn't matter because I got better reps across the board. Yes, thats right bitches, on every exercise. I didn't do the bonus but that's alright because although this is my "third" week, its my fourth time doing the routine.

Diet was adequate again. Today I remembered that the diet regime includes their proprietary crap blend recovery drink, which boasts quite a few carbs so now I don't feel so bad. I'm not going to jump at any other premature reviews, but at this point the leanness that I was hoping for is at a slow onset. I've lost a few pounds but that's definitely due to the cutting out of crap food. I sweat way more doing p90x than conventional weight lifting, but I also do less cardio because of it. I'm going to wait until next week's weigh in, but I'm leaning towards doing two a days during the wednesday and thursday routines. Next week is the misleadingly named recovery week, but I'm still going to focus on adding more to cardio. I think it could really be the difference between staying the same and losing that pound or two.

Tomorrow is yoga, by the far the least enjoyable workout constructed in this program. Wish me luck.

Week 3 Day 2: Pylometrics

2010-01-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Absolutely brutal workout as always. However I really find myself enjoying pylometrics quite a bit as you get to do a lot of compound, lateral movement that is functional for conditioning. I can feel myself getting better at jumping, squat form, balance, flexibility, etc. that you wouldn't normally get just doing a bunch of leg presses. There's still some exercises that I don't do; not because I can't but some of the moves draw a line into "what the hell is that kid doing" category. Rockstar jumps anyone? Yeah, nope. I'm not playing air guitar in my workout. The idea is to get girls to like me more, not be afraid of me. And yes we all know there's always one creepy dude at the gym that looks so out of place that its just painful to watch.

By the end of the session, my legs were jello which I've become accustomed to in this program. However I did have the energy to do some light 15 minutes worth of cardio, which is a bonus. I could've gone much harder but I'm still cautious because I don't want to wear my legs out and be useless the rest of the week (especially for the second round of legs on friday). However I think doing more cardio akin to the p90x doubles will definitely help to achieve my goals, especially because I'm not restricting myself completely to their fail diet. Today's eatings went decently. Worst thing I had was a grilled chicken sandwich, only bad because of the bun. However its payback for my disgusting breakfast of cottage cheese since they were out of eggs. College really sucks sometimes.

As I write this my roommate is having a damn orgasm over call of duty. If that's not motivation to workout more, than I don't know what is.

Week 3 Redux: Chest and Back

2010-01-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

So in the spirit of starting kind of new here I am again. Week 3: Groundhog's day edition! Technically this is the fourth time I've done this routine so the results may be skewed but I killed most all of my rep ranges from even a week before. This is a combination of being a little cautious in the previous workouts and muscle memory kicking in. Especially with chest and back, I can pretty much guess what's coming next without cues and Tony talking up the super jacked German chick in the video. I am getting good gains especially in the pull up chin up category as for some reason the program thinks its great to do it twice a week. I'm a little nervous about the shoulder overload and the neglection of chest but we'll see how it goes. Shoulder injuries are the most common through p90x probably due to the massive amount of pull ups, rows, and flies (not to mention they stabilize push ups as well). Diamond push ups still kick my ass, but the heavy pants/back flies seem way too easy for some reason. Its hard to keep your back straight but there's not as much pump as say a pull up. I know for me this is because of weight lifting but it still feels kinda weird.

I had also forgotten how hard ab ripper x is if you do it immediately following chest and back. I don't know if you are technically supposed to do this or wait until later, but while I was there I decided to push forward. I could barely do a couple mason twists at the end, let alone 40. They seemed much easier when I did them later at night, but thats all the better for me. I knew my abs were toast when I ended with about 20 minutes of slow cardio after (yay me for going beyond eh?). I wasn't out of breath and my legs were fresh but my abs burned like razorblades with each stride. I thanked God at the end that I didn't puke in front of all the girls doing Zumba and packed it in.

My diet for today was also a complete 180 from the previous week. No junk food, regular meals, plenty of protein, and good carbs predominantly before and after the workout. Tuna, chicken, eggs, salads, fruit...not many dieticians will complain with that one. I didn't even need a protein shake, which in my researched opinion is a last resort when you can't find a lean food source, or if you are a bodybuilder and need the 200+ grams. Replacing a full dinner with a shake every day? Your intestinal track will not thank you for that one, but I digress. I really do feel that my negligable weight loss (around 3-4 pounds thus far) and even smaller changes to physique are the result of me getting too emotionally drained from the diet guidelines and the occasional binge eating session. Couple this with not enough total hours of working out and there you have it. I know what I had to do better and for today I addressed it. Right now its 8:30 at night, I don't feel hungry and better I'm not depressed.

One final thought before I leave: the complaints about Tony from other p90xers are not exaggerated. I think I'd like the guy in real life and to his credit I don't think anyone who is in an instructional video can come off as genuine by the third or fourth time you've seen the exact same said video. However, by the end of the routine this is what I'm envisioning in my head (see picture above).

Week 3 Review: Uh Oh

2010-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

So I thought the transition from home to school for p90x would be a breeze, but last week was anything but. Between snowstorms closing gyms to trying to fit in a weeks worth of routine in four days to relapsing on eating, I can honestly say I've been humbled at how hard it is to stay on track with this program. So much so in fact that I'm throwing out this week altogether. I'm restarting week 3. It's the only fair thing to do.

OK, so if this was a science experiment what I'm doing would be unfair. If this was a pure critique of the p90x system it would affect the results because I'm not sticking to 90 days now and I'm not going to follow all the guidelines from here on out (more on this later). But this isn't an experiment really, this is my body. Its a lot better to just restart a week rather than quitting and getting frustrated and I'm making no excuses. I just ate way too badly and neglected cardio and yoga which made it feel like I wasnt even doing p90x. Of course when I do give my final review after the final week I'll definitely make note of this so people will know that I wasn't true to the system for this period of time. If I fail to stick to all the rules but reach my goals, then I'm all for it.

Phew. Well, this is a learning experience and I'm learning alot. Based on all this, here's what I'm going for looking forward:

1. Eating a more balanced diet. I'm sorry but my worst fears came true when doing phase I of the diet. There's nothing healthy about eating what amounts to around 30 grams of carbs a day if you follow the guidelines. For me thats equivalent to cutting out almost 900 calories. Now of course you should be making some of this up with added protein and fats, but I'm someone who already ate more than adequate amounts of the former. I also have to be realistic in that I'm at the mercy of what the school serves and what times I can eat. Long story short, trying to avoid even whole grains, fruits and some vegetables got me feeling so irritable after a while that I caved in and binged on junk food. Going forward I'm going to avoid carb counting and instead base my meals on a protein source whenever I can, and if it comes with some complex carbs than so be it. My daily calorie intake will still be at the same defecit, but now I won't feel like killing someone because my brain has no glucose to use.

2. Changing some of the routines. I'm definitely keeping the fundamentals: chest and back, pylo, shoulders and arms, legs and back, ab ripper x. These workouts are killer and are providing me with great pumps and some impressive gains in athleticism and energy already. I feel so much better for doing these and am already in more impressive shape than I was going in. The same can't be said for yoga or kenpo. Remember my number one objective is to become leaner and more explosive in my movements. Yoga x is the longest workout and I don't really feel that I need all of it. I feel I could get much more out of doing it for 30 minutes and finishing with a longer cardio session. Kenpo really is like a substitute for physical activity (which in reality is what p90x is) for people who need cardiovascular training but don't have the time, no gym, treadmill, can't get outside, etc. Again I see myself getting more out of playing sports or going to the gym for cardio and only using kenpo when I can't do either one of those. This is subject to change once phase II starts and I see what kind of fun is in store since I haven't tried those routines fully yet.

3. Try to blog every day again. In reality week 1 was overall my best week, and I really do feel I was more accountable doing this rather than recapping weeks. Its boring and virtually no one reads this I'm assuming :(, but its good for that little extra motivation. That way I can remember how some things worked and some didn't beyond just the rep counts. This isn't going to be the next fitbomb, but if I can remember some of the dumb things Tony says then I'll make fun of it for you.

That's all I can think of for now. It's been an absolute struggle thus far, but I'm determined not to give up. It's ironic to me that the reason most people give up p90x is the difficulty of the workouts but thats the one thing thats keeping me on it. Its nice to rub it in the face of the gym rats you know when you've just done close to 40 sets, when they are doing 12. Wish me luck!

Week 2 Recap

2010-01-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ok so instead of giving another dull day by day recap I'll just give a review of the week that was until the routines change. First, the good. I was able to go longer and do more reps throughout the board for each routine, which felt great. I was able to focus and hunker down, pace myself better, take less breaks, and remember exercises on cue. Writing down what I've done has helped tremendously. Other people who I lift with I think are getting a bit jealous because not only are my muscles not shrinking doing this, but I can still outlift my friends (and now I'm becoming more athletic than them through p90x).

Alas, there's been drawbacks this week. I neglected yoga x and kenpo entirely. I didn't feel bad for kempo because I played basketball for 2 hours which makes up for it but I'm definitely dogging on the yoga concept. Don't get me wrong, I believe in its benefits but I find it the least enjoyable and I don't know how useful 90 minutes of it is one day a week versus a good cardio session for becoming more lean. I also missed an ab ripper x (which isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be) and again had to take pylo a little lighter. All in all once I get back to school its my intention to follow the program 100% (even add on to it).

On to the diet. I find myself incorporating more carbs throughout the day, which according to p90x is a no no for the first 30 days. Low carb sucks way worse than I thought it would. Even after a good chicken dinner with a huge salad I feel starving an hour later. I'm still avoiding bad food which is huge because I've never had a stretch in my entire life where overall I'm avoiding junk. I had one bad night at a party where I had some schnopps and a couple pieces of pizza, but other than that its been solid. Again I'm going to reset and try low carb as much as possible, I'm just afraid the calories will be too low.

Can't believe its the third week already. I'll weigh myself tomorrow, although I don't think there will be much difference from last week. My body feels much better and I already feel in better shape in months, now hopefully the abs come next! Till then, peace out kids

Day 7: Rest/Week 1 Review

2010-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

For the last day, you can choose either rest or x-stretch. I had all the intentions of doing x-stretch, but the nfl playoffs called. Haha I'm not a big fan of excuses so I would consider this by first big fat F day, luckily I did have a basketball game where we had no bench players so I played the whole game. Judging by my performance of yoga x, x stretch is definitely a good idea to do. I think it will also help to warm me up before game time.

Feels weird that I completed the first week. I basically went from doing no routine on vacation to having a very structured, organized one (for the most part). Yes, there are a lot of kinks to iron out and as I get used to the routines the whole system should flow a lot smoother. At first I thought it would actually be an advantage to do it at a gym, but now I'm seeing this isn't the case. If you can afford the equipment (no idea how well the bands work, might try some when I go back to school) I'd recommend doing it at home. Using an ipod has its limits. You're either squinting at the screen or fighting with the controls (even on lock for some reason the videos pause by themselves). I also thought I would have the energy to do some low intensity cardio afterwards. Wrong. I can barely get ab ripper x done before a). feeling like death and b) managing time. Not many have two plus hours to dedicate working out. By the time I get back to school next week I hope to have enough of the routines down to be quicker and more efficient. Because the school gym is walking distance, eventually its the hope I can go twice a day; once for cardio and once for p90x.

Overall I'd give this week a solid B or B+. Yes grading is stupid but it helps me be fair to myself. Again I went from having lost the discipline to be healthy to feeling like its my first time (and for me thats a great feeling). I'm tracking my reps and doing this blog which I've never consistently done before. Eating wise I went from a holiday smorgesboard (no idea how to spell that) to following an entirely new eating plan for me. My main goal was to eliminate junk which I have done wholeheartedly. No chips, no regular soda, no binge drinking candy or cakes/cookies/crackers. I'm eating way more good vegetables and smaller portions throughout the day.

I'm far from perfect in p90x's diet though. Not only do I hate the idea of low carbs, but it makes eating real tough and occasionally unhealthy. Where as I might of had a bowl of oatmeal with a banana for breakfast, now I'm having eggs and bacon. I'm eating way more meat and cheese and occasionally even nitrite filled jerkies and pepperoni. I often times will skip eating if it means I can't do it low carb right now. This results in far less than the 1800 calorie suggestion, which isn't healthy. Consider at a maintenance weight I was eating around 2500, and I'm averaging around a 1000 calories less a day with improved activity level. That's too much.

Sorry for the rambling, but again its best to be reflective about all the pros and cons in order to improve what I'm doing. As I get used to a vastly different workout and diet system, I'll get more efficient with it and get better results. Even when I don't agree with what the program asks for, I'm trying my best to stick to what it wants in order to be fair. I'd hate to get to the end half-assing it or even modifying it too much, and then have no idea if it truly worked or not.

Week 2 next!

Day 6: Kenpo X

2010-01-10T12:36:00.001-08:00

Kenpo was one of the more dissapointing routines. Again there's nothing extreme about it, it felt like watered down tae bo. I think it could be decent if you included weights; however I think a better plan is just to do regular cardio instead. I never really felt fatigued, at least not in the way the other routines made me feel. If I continue to do kenpo it will be supplemented with something else. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'd do it in a gym, though. You can tell that its made for private home use only.

Day 5: Legs and Back

2010-01-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

They should title this workout "Pylometrics II" because that's what it feels like. All of the back exercises are pull ups, and the combination of doing back on monday and shoulders two days ago really took its toll on my pull up numbers. Actually the ghetto gym I was in today doesn't have any pull up bars so I was using the top of the smith machine which is extremely thick and hard to grasp, resulting in lower reps but maybe improvement in grip strength? I also used the smith machine's bar for modified chin ups. My biggest complaint with legs is that 80% of the routine is lunge variations. For me doing lunges is helpful since I don't do them normally when lifting, just not that many. I guess they were hesitant on doing a lot of squats because there are so many in pylo. Also my legs were somewhat waxed from yoga x which didn't help as well as my right leg was still bothering me. I'm thinking of adding some calf exercises and maybe subtracting one lunge exercise. By the end I was drenched with sweat again, luckily I'm doing ab ripper tomorrow. I did do some cardio after to make up for it.

Day 4: Yoga X/Ab Ripper X

2010-01-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Yoga X is interesting. I don't really understand the point of putting x next to the name because this is regular yoga. Yes, there are some really hard moves but beyond its length, there's nothing extreme about it. I really feel like 90 minutes is on the long side, as I'm pretty sure this is the longest workout so far. This might be the workout I end up modifying, maybe doing it for 60 minutes then finishing up with cardio, skipping the moves I struggle with and switching where I start each week to keep it fresh. Each pose Tony introduces stacks up on top of each other; I don't really feel like I need to do downward dog 20 times. Other than that it's a nice changeup and an excellent stretch and balance builder. One other positive is that Tony is at his nicest and least hardcore here. The downside is that the music is terrible. This is also the most challenging workout to do on an ipod since I'm a yoga noob and don't know half the poses just on audio cue. I really wish I could do more workouts at home on a tv because the small screen and frequent pausing (even on lock) and random quitting of the movie becomes really irritating. It's a workout in itself.

I pushed myself a little harder on Ab Ripper X, and I feel it more than last time. Still can't get 300 reps but I'm getting there. I'm feeling a little more burn than last time which is also good. Diet is really starting to become a chore as I'm running out of carbless ideas. I really try to get no more than 40 grams in a day, and one yogurt takes care of half of that. Still I haven't had anything remotely resembling junk food and haven't had any booze in a week. I can already see a little definition despite only starting the diet saturday. Hopefully I can keep up the good work.

Day 3- Shoulders and arms

2010-01-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

Heading into the gym I felt pretty good and ready to do day 3. Shoulders and arms is even longer than chest and back, though not quite as rough. Its basically split into a shoulder exercise, then biceps, then triceps and repeat that superset before moving on to new exercises. The tri and bi were pretty standard fare and produced a decent pump but the shoulder exercises were killer. Again I was sweating profusely by the time I was over, when I decided to do the bonus round at the end. Overall I could keep up on this one pretty well, although on some 16 rep exercises I came up a little short. It will definitely be a focus for next time to hit better forms and the full rep range, and maybe add some weight to some of the exercises.

More of the same on the diet end. The highest carb food today I had was a yogurt, coming in at a whopping 22 grams (that's sarcasm) a half an hour before I worked out. I'm getting sick of salad pretty quick as I use it to fill me up with meals, and of eggs. Not a huge egg fan but there's no real low carb breakfast beyond egg whites and bacon, except for some low carb cereals. I miss my breads and fruits dammit! Can't wait till phase 1 is over.

Day 2- Ab Ripper X/Pylometrics

2010-01-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ab Ripper X was a doozy but actually not as bad as some claim it was. Yes, to get all 300 reps (which I couldn't do) takes a tremendous amount of effort, but I was able to complete all exercises without failing beyond a few reps. However it did give me a great burn and is a great alternative to my regular ab routine. A lot of people do ab ripper after chest and back though, and I'm sure that ups the difficulty a few notches. This is the one routine that seems to have life beyond the scope of p90x and I hope to get better at it. Mason twists=death, by the way.

Pylometrics was much rougher. My knee was still bugging so I couldn't complete any of the single leg exercises (mostly lunge jump alternatives), which was dissapointed. However with 20 minutes still to go I hit the wall and had a great heart rate going. I slowed down drastically on the last few sets, but once my knee comes back I should be able to get all the routine down. The basic set up in this routine is 3 exercises, rest, then repeat that circuit before moving on to a new one. Despite the pain in my knee I actually feel less burn in the muscles than a normal leg lifting day, which is dissapointing. However I'm not used to pylo so my legs might feel like jelly later on. For those of you reading, pylo isn't endurance or cardio training despite what some reviewers say. It's its own monster and practices explosive movement. However it could be argued that p90x pylo routine isn't full on pylometrics. The hardest ones for me were the heismans, jump knee tucks and the mary katherine lunges that my right knee can't handle yet (technically its a shin but feels like knee).

I'll have the results of the shoulders and arms routine posted later. I'm moving ab ripper x to tomorrow because it doesn't make sense to do it twice in a row. Oh yeah, the diet marches on. Again I don't really feel phase I is super healthy, however my energy levels have finally started to increase as my body is getting used to low carbs. What I'm proud of isn't sticking to their guidelines but just managing to avoid junk. Haven't drank since last friday, and haven't had anything remotely resembling junk food except for some g2 gatorade during my game (which equals out to like 50 calories) and diet soda (which equals 0). I'm already starting to look less puffy, no doubt due in part to a sensible amount of calories and a high amount of vegetables over salty and sweet stuff. When it comes to being more lean, its diet first and exercise second. Easier to cut out a donut than run 3 miles, isn't it?

P.P.S. not to go on a tangent but despite that statement, physical activity is more important than your diet, no contest. I'll explain it later if I think about it but I don't feel like writing a science paper right now. Till then, later guys.

Day 1: Chest and Back

2010-01-04T18:27:00.000-08:00

Feels insane that I started day 1 today. I was pretty nervous to start because its resolution season and everyone was packed into the gym. I was also nervous because I bruised my shin in a game last night and it hurts like hell. Chest and back was as intense as I thought it would be. I started out real decent and keeping pace pretty well with Tony and his peeps, but the momentum slowed down pretty fast. Halfway through I had to use chair assists for pull ups and rests in between push ups. I took longer between exercises than the video and probably drank more water. I almost chickened out when the first round was over because I felt so spent, but I pushed through the second round. Safe to say I wasn't perfect, but due to the fact I was in a gym it didn't really bother me.

When it was finally over, I could definitely tell that being out for weeks combined with the diet left me less than 100%. My body felt the same way the first time I ever stepped into a gym, maybe even more tired. But it felt great. I never felt bad when I couldn't keep up with the instructors or even my own rep goals. It really does feel like a new beginning and I really hope my knee is good enough to for the high impact of pylometrics tomorrow.

Now for the sins of the day. I didn't get the chance to do Ab Ripper X because I rode with my cousin to the gym and naturally he finished faster than me; he did maybe 5 sets of lifts compared to my 24. I didn't want to keep him longer than I already had. Truthfully I probably didn't have enough energy even if I did have the time. So first thing in the morning I'm going to do it for sure. The second sin is that I went to kfc afterwards. However all I got was a small chicken burrito and a small salad, which I have never done at a fast food place before. So we'll call it even.

Ab ripper and pylos tomorrow! (Hopefully)

Fitness Test and Before Pics

2010-01-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

I successfully completed the fitness test without a hitch. For those wondering p90x has a pre program fitness test that assesses whether you can handle the workouts. Its actually pretty easy and probably isn't a great indication on whether you'll light up the program or not, so if you can't do it definitely stay away from p90x for a while and do something else. As promised, here are my before pics:

Not exactly Herculean, that's for sure. I could be the poster child for skinny fat americans. Although I'm not overweight I look puffy and bloated and don't have great definition. Right now I'm topping out at about 188 pounds and a calculated 14% body fat. Not awful, but not where I'd like them to be at all. My ultimate goal for the 90 days would be to crack under 180 and get to at least 10% bf. 8 pounds in three months is definitely realistic, although shedding four percent of my fat stores is going to be real hard. Not only that but I obviously hope to gain strength and athleticism, especially in my vertical leap. All these things considered it's going to be a hard path, but these pictures can only hope to serve as motivation.

The diet in its first few days has gone swimmingly in that I'm following the guidelines correctly, but it sucks. My brain is screaming for sugar. Having almost no glycogen is bad enough now, but using fat for fuel in high intensity workouts is like pulling teeth for your body. There's a reason endurance athletes carb load and that's because of the flood of energy it gives your muscles. Because of the diet there's no way I'm going to be able to perform 100% at first, even with a fair amount of calories. That's okay though, because I know the calories burned will be from my own fat stores. Also I'm getting a head start from all the snow shoveling and basketball I'm doing this weekend, which is great.

Day 1 starts monday, chest and back baby!

Diet and supplement impressions

2009-12-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

P90X stresses that you can't have good results without the proper nutrition, which of course they would be right about. However I'm not too psyched about their so called world class nutrition plan. It's virtually identical to things like Atkins and South Beach. Just like the workout schedule the nutrition plan is split into three phases, with the first being low/no carb. This is further split up into your fitness level, so to be conservative I'll stick with level 1. The good thing is that it isn't calorie restrictive per say, however its still much less than what I would normally eat. They give you the option of following day by day exactly what to eat or a servings approach like weight watchers. Since the majority of food I'll be eating throughout the course of this experience will be cafeteria food, I'll have to make best with what I'm given. Phase I is not going to be my friend: only 1 serving a day of fat and 1 of carbohydrate. There's really no scientific proof that eating a low carb diet will produce more fat loss than a balanced diet. Really it comes down to the calorie restriction and cutting all the junk. However I do plan to stick to their diet as much as possible, even if I don't agree with it. Phases II and III seem easier to follow even though they are the same amount of calories so we'll see.

The diet counts supplements as snacks. There's no nice way of putting this except that its cruel and stupid. If you've ever had a protein shake or bar you know these things are not made for taste. P90x really seems to take a liking to a high quantity of protein which is a flawed idea. This isn't for bodybuilding contest preparation, so a high amount of protein will end up being a waste. Unless you are a high level endurance or power athlete, your body only requires a relatively small amount for muscle growth and tissue repair. A gram of carb and a gram of protein each equal out to four calories. Excess calories=excess fat, its that simple. If you couldn't tell yet, I'm not too pleased about the nutrition side of things.

Of course P90x strongly encourages you to buy their drinks and bars, which are way overpriced for the same things you can get at Walmart or online for much cheaper. The supplements I'll be using on this journey will be protein powder, fish oil, creatine, and a multivitamin. These are the basics and there's no reason for anything else. I'm definitely not spending 100 dollars for the same stuff I could get anywhere else for much less. That's pretty much the consensus for pretty much everyone doing p90x. I don't know one person who actually bought all of the supplements and extra equipment, at least not one that it benefited them by doing so.

Although I'm not starting the workouts until the 4th, I'm going to start the diet tomorrow. I'll get some pre pics and the fitness test results up here soon. Happy new years everyone!

Initial Impressions and the plan

2009-12-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've now checked out all of the routines in P90X. Some such as chest and back and pylometrics x look downright brutal. They are high impact, no rest and require a lot of coordination and strength. Others such as kenpo x and cardio x seem kind of weak compared to what I thought they'd be. Not that they look real easy, but they seem to be pretty run of the mill DVD workout type of stuff. Others seem to be for strict flexibility and core strength such as yoga x and x stretch which should be helpful as I'm not the most disciplined stretcher. Each workout also has a lengthy warm-up routine which also seems pretty solid.

I'm not gonna lie, I've heard a lot of negative things about Tony Horton's delivery and I can't really argue with those people. He is intense and I'm sure for the first few weeks he'll prove to be motivating, but I can imagine its going to get old quick. He seems like he can't decide whether he wants to be a meathead or a boy scout which I guess he's earned cause he is a beast. Seriously.

This shouldn't be a problem, because of the way I plan on doing p90x. No, I don't mean I'm going to half ass workouts and just do the ones I feel like doing on certain days. I plan to stick to the layout as much as possible. However I'm going to do be doing most of the workouts at the gym using an ipod instead of at home. I don't own free weights beyond a bench or a pull-up bar, plus it'll be easier going to the gym while I'm at school. Plus after a few weeks I should be pretty much set and know the routines by heart. I plan to use Tony until I start to get sick of him, though. This is just in case he turns out to be more motivating than I'm thinking he is.

Because this is a system designed for those to get maximally fit in a short amount of time, it assumes you wouldn't be doing much cardio at home. Since I'm at the gym, however, I intend to add cardio on top of the routines either immediately after each one or first thing in the morning a few times a week. I also play basketball in an adult league so that should help as well. My main mission isn't to gain mass but to become more athletic and lean. Not that its really possible to gain a lot of weight on p90x because of such high reps and restrictive diet, but you get the idea. And yes, there is a p90x lean version but it felt stripped down in comparison and too focused on cardio x and kenpo. I've saving myself the embarrassment and skipping p90x doubles because I'll probably barely be able to do regular p90x. I also have all of the p90x plus workouts, which might be interesting to incorporate down the road even though they are intended for those who have already completed 90 days.

I plan on starting the program the first monday of the new year. Hopefully I can get in some regular workouts or some sort of physical activity in the mean time. I had my wisdom teeth removed recently and as such haven't worked out in over a week and its really bugging me. I'm pretty psyched to start this thing and hopefully I can keep the ball rolling and break through the initial feelings of death that everyone experiences in p90x. Its a blog graveyard out there with people who have only made it a few weeks before quitting so hopefully I don't add to that list.

Welcome/About Me

2009-12-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to my p90x workout blog. Before I explain the whole reason behind why I'm doing this particular workout routine I'll talk a little bit about myself. My name is Nathan, a 22 year old college student living in the great outdoors of Maine. If you are looking for an incredible moving story then this is the wrong blog to be following. I'm not overweight or unfit. I don't have a chronic illness or any other serious medical condition. I'm basically broke like every other college student, but I don't have kids or a wife that requires me to work for 60 hours. Girls don't run from me and I didn't get beat up in high school. This is by no means The Biggest Loser or the story of Rocky Balboa.

So why do this blog in the first place? Why am I following such a butchering workout routine (I'll talk about it more later for those who aren't familiar with p90x)? After all I regularly work out and eat decently most of the time. It wasn't always that way, however. I was overweight for a good portion of my life. Even though I played sports in high school and was overall pretty active, I got involved in bad eating and physical activity habits that left me an unhealthy and occasionally unhappy person. The turning point was being in gym class for physical testing and completely failing everything. I couldn't do pull ups, run a mile, or touch my toes. I knew something had to change. I got into weight lifting and working out and suddenly everything changed. I looked forward to hitting my muscles, ones that I didn't even know existed. Suddenly I didn't need that 40 ounce coma inducing pepsi and large order of fries. I felt good physically for the first time in my life.

I followed this and actually improved my physique through college, and avoided the freshman 15. Two years ago I dropped out of my old school and moved closer to home. This takes us to today. It's safe to say I have hit a rut, plateau, wall, etc. I don't look forward to working out like I used to. My lifts are regressing and my focus is shot. I don't have any sort of solid routine when it comes to exercise anymore, and lately I've been eating like shit. Especially since the beginning of the holiday season, the only program I've followed is the "junk and drunk" one. I eat too much and I drink and party way too much. I'm generally less active during the day and my mood is lower than it has been in years. Is it boredom from my usual routine? Stress? Who knows. What I do know is that physically and mentally I am not where I could be, and its time for that to change.

For those who don't know or have just heard the name, p90x is a "revolutionary" workout system that uses varying advanced workouts and routines in what they call muscle confusion. This is just a fancy term for periodization or shifting workouts to avoid plateaus. You've no doubt seen the infomercials somewhere before:

Now I'm a naturally skeptical and realistic person. Most of those results are not typical and I definitely don't expect to be ripped in 90 days. However I chose p90x for a number of reasons. First because its radically different from what I am doing now. A typical workout for me would be lifting weights for one or two muscle groups, then some sort of cardio afterwards. All of the workouts in p90x are high rep and almost no rest, boot camp style. I've done similar workouts called Crossfit before and really enjoyed them, although I never got involved in a full on program. The second is that I got the entire system free off of someone, which was huge. It's really expensive especially if you invest in weights and bars. Last is the generally positive reviews for those who have done it, online and off. The system has a damn cult following, no joke. For all five of you reading this, thats probably what interested you in the first place.

So follow along as I dive into the insanity. Hopefully I don't fail or chicken out halfway through. In my next posts I'll go over other details about my reasons and expectations and how I plan to do this thing, even the dreaded beginning pictures. I've never done a blog before or even a journal so this will be a learning experience all the way through. Please don't hesitate to comment, I would love to hear regular feedback throughout this process.