Day 5: Legs and Back

Day 5/90 | 5% Complete

So far, I do not like the back workouts because I can barely do an unassisted pull-up. I did 5 full ones in my fit test but after I complete my first set without the chair I am pretty much done doing unassisted pull-ups for the rest of the workout. The legs workout was very good, being able to work out my hamstrings, quads, calves... all over! I was definitely sweating to keep up with the Fab 4 (Tony and his group!) throughout the morning. The energy that Tony gives off actually does come through the TV. He pushes you to do that extra rep or get lower. I've been getting pumped up at the beginning of the DVD when the group gets pumped up and at the end of each workout so far I have been high-fiving the TV, just like the group. It really is a cool thing!

As far as nutrition, I've still been following the Nutrition Guide most of the time, but it's been harder going to the grocery store every other day to pick up the next couple days worth of food. So, today I'll probably be eating lots of leftovers from previous day's dinners. If you are interested in tracking what you eat each day, I have found an awesome website called SparkPeople which is free that allows you to enter what you eat every meal each day and then view reports on each day. Therefore, you can track your calorie intake as well as your percentage fat, carb, and protein intake each day too... just to make sure you are on track.

Day 4: Yoga X... who knew?

Day 4/90 | 4% Complete

This was my first yoga lesson ever... and I had no idea what it was going to be like. It turned out to be much much harder than I ever thought. It was peaceful and difficult all at the same time. I felt completely relaxed after finishing it. Some of the moves I couldn't even get close to doing since I am definitely not as flexible as I should be. As usual, Tony is a great motivator even when you think you're completely out of energy, he gets you to do one more set or hold a pose for 10 more seconds. One of the hardest things for me is holding my leg straight and high in a bunch of the moves. So, I just hope that as time goes on, I can start to see a difference with that.

I really liked this workout and I hope it will give me more energy throughout the day today since I have been lacking energy the last couple of days. The only problem I have with this workout is that it's a little longer than the other ones since it's an hour and a half long. However, I feel like this workout will help me so much with my balance and my flexibility as well.

By the way, as I mentioned yesterday, I've been looking at new dumbbells since I can't stand mine. I went to the store and checked out a couple of the adjustable dumbbell sets and it seems like the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells are one of the only well-made ones out there. A lot of the others are metal and "stick" a lot while trying to adjust the weights. I found a less expensive but smaller SelectTech dumbbell set that only goes up to 20 pounds of total weight per dumbbell but I think I may go with this. It goes from 2.5 lbs to 20 lbs in 2.5 lb increments and is a lot more compact than the larger set. I have heard that the larger set which goes up to 52.5 lbs is sometimes too large and unwieldy. My only requirements are that I can adjust it in 2.5 lb increments and that it goes up to 20 or 25 lbs. I would really like it if these went up to 25 lbs but for $150 I might just buy these and then buy a few individual dumbbells for the larger weights or continue to use my current set as well. Bowflex needs to make another set of dumbbells which adjusts from 20-50 (or 75) so you can use the smaller set for smaller weights and the larger set for larger weights but, oh well, I can't ask for everything, can I?

Day 3: Shoulders and Arms

Day 3/90 | 3% Complete

I've been going through the last couple days sore from the previous day's workout. But it's good soreness! As long as I'm not in pain anywhere and my muscles are sore, it's all pure goodness. The shoulders and arms workout was another good one but I realized one thing. My dumbbells just won't cut it. As I mentioned before I use the free weight type of dumbbells with a bar where you have to change the weights on each side of the bar every time you want a different weight. Well, for this workout I was switching practically every single set which, first off, is not fun at all. Second, it wastes so much time and, third, it gives me too much rest between sets.

I've been doing the workouts in the morning right after getting out of bed and before going to work and I need the workouts to take as little time as possible so I can get to work on time. So, I'm going to price a few different options. I like the Bowflex adjustable dumbbells, but at $330, they're a bit expensive and I have heard mixed reviews about them. I will also check out regular individual dumbbells from The Sports Authority and see how much they go for, but I definitely need a change! Does anyone have any suggestions?

Besides for that, the workout was awesome. Tony kept me motivated as usual. His "twin" look-alike was in this video which was quite bizarre. At the end just when I thought I was done, I realized I wasn't. The Ab Ripper X was coming up. So, I killed the abs and I felt like I could do a little more than the first time around a couple days ago.

I can't wait to keep bringing it!

Day 2: Plyometrics

Day 2/90 | 2% Complete

For those of you who don't know what plyometrics is, this is the "mother of all workouts" as Tony Horton calls it. This is the "X" in P90X. Plyometrics is jump-training. There are lots of intense, explosive moves. This entire workout lasts about an hour and at the end of the workout, I felt like I had just run a marathon. As usual, Tony broke down the moves for me and best of all kept me motivated and intense throughout the workout. Not only is he funny and interesting as you are working out, but he keeps you in the game the entire time! I've always been a pretty athletic guy, playing lots of sports and activities, and I can tell that this workout would probably do wonders for you if you are an athlete.


Day 2 was a success! I finished the workout with a Protein Shake which I made following the recipe from the Nutriton Guide, but I will go in more depth with my nutrition and exactly what I'm eating in a later post dedicated to it.

Day 1: Chest and Back

Day 1/90 | 1% Complete

What have I gotten myself into? This first day of workouts was harder than I ever imagined, but now that I'm done with it, I feel great! Today was all about working the chest and back. There were lots (and I mean lots!) of different types of push-up and pull-up exercises, some that I have never done before. I have never been good at pull-ups so I used a chair as he shows in the video to help with the pull-up. I did as many as could without the chair and then used the chair for assistance.

One thing I would highly recommend is to buy either a set of individual dumbbells or one of those awesome new dumbbell sets that adjust to the weight which you want. I am currently using the free weight dumbbells which you have to remove and add the weights for each side which was taking way too long between sets to complete. I may soon exchange that for individual dumbbells but I don't want to spend too much money on them.

Then, when the workout was over, it wasn't time to relax, because it was time to do the Ab RipperX workout. This workout is about 15 minutes long and really does a killing for your abdominal area. I couldn't get through all the exercises like they could, but I'll just do as much as I can and then hopefully continue to improve.

Day 1 was certainly not easy... actually, it was downright tough. But, it was exciting and fun and I can't wait to see results in my body.

Before Pictures

These are pictures I took before I completed the Fit Test from the P90X booklet. The Fit Test is just several exercises listed which you should complete to monitor your progress so you can compare your results at the end of the 90 days. The exercises included pull-ups, push-ups, vertical leap, etc. and they are to completed in a certain order with a certain amount of rest in between.

These are my pre-P90X pictures!

It arrived!

P90X arrived on Wednesday, one day before Thanksgiving! After picking up the box from the front desk of my apartment building, I ran up to my apartment with anticipation. I opened the box and found a very nice and organized layout inside. There were two books and on the bottom was the set of 12 DVD's. I started skimming the books which looked as though they provide very good information. One book is the Nutrition Guide and one is for the P90X workouts. It looks like the first thing that they want you to do before you begin the workout is to read the books completely. The nutrition is just as important as the workouts so I am going to figure out exactly how much I should be eating before I truly begin. Also, there is a fit test you are supposed to take which I will do and let you know about.

Yesterday on Thanksgiving I ate much more than I probably should but I am planning on starting my P90X fit test tomorrow and hopefully day 1 of the workout and nutrition routine on Monday.

P90X on its way

I just checked the UPS website to see the status of my order and it's on its way! It'll hopefully come just before Thanksgiving so I can still eat a big Thanksgiving meal and work it all off later. I know it's probably against the diet but Thanksgiving is only once a year and is my favorite holiday. So, after that I'll push myself back on the stricter diet. I'll go into my diet on another day once I receive the Nutrition Guide and see what it recommends compared to what I'm currently eating.

I've already begun to prepare for the equipment needed for P90X. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods near me and bought a pull-up bar and a yoga mat. There are two main types of pull-up bars. One is the type that goes in between a doorway and expands to the width of the doorway. The other type goes over the doorway and is the one they sell on the beachbody.com website. I bought the one that you have to install within the door frame and I'm not particularly thrilled with it. First, you need to screw the brackets into the wall for it to be sturdy so you need to put holes in the wall. Second, I don't have much ceiling space and, therefore, I can't stand up very tall while hanging and I also can't get very high above it without hitting my head on the ceiling. I'll see how it goes but I might end up returning it and buying the over-the-door type.

The other equipment that I've found you need are dumbbells or resistance bands. I already have a set of dumbbells so I'm set there. The only problem is that they are the kind that you have to change the weights by releasing the safety clamp, taking off the weight, adding new weight, putting the safety clamp back on... and it just takes forever to switch weights. I really wish I could afford these awesome and easy dumbbells.

Hopefully, P90X will arrive tomorrow. Stay tuned cause the fun is just beginning!

I Just Ordered P90X!

Well, I just pulled the trigger and ordered the P90X Extreme Home Fitness System! And I am so excited to begin. I wish the DVD's would arrive tomorrow so i could start working out already. I've been doing lots of research and found some great websites describing how the routine works and what's included in the package. One important part of the package is supposed to be a nutrition guide so as you go through the 90 days of workouts, you will be eating healthy as well. And, you will also be making sure you are getting the correct and complete nutrients needed to fuel your body and see changes.

I've also been searching around the Internet for some sample videos of P90X and I have found a few (I won't tell you where or how.) So, I think I might check these out before the DVD's arrive and get into the routine just a bit. When the DVD's arrive in the mail, I'm going to start over from Day 1 again and do all the workouts with 100% gusto! Plus, included in the package will be lots of other workout sheets and extra videos which I will use (and of course, the nutrition guide.)

I can't wait to see how tough the workouts are and how in or out of shape I really am right now!!

My P90X Fascination and Review

Hi! Welcome to the first entry of my P90X experience. For those of you who don't know what P90X is, it is an intense set of workout videos which alleges to transform your body in 90 days. You can get to the P90X website here. Let me begin with how I discovered P90X and became enthralled by it. I was on a trip in Boston and one night I was watching TV late at night. I happened to come across an informercial (surprise that there was one on during late night TV!) which showed lots of in-shape men and women showing their transformations with before and after pictures. I've seen informercials like this many times, but this one was very different. It wasn't a get-fit-quick scheme or lose weight overnight pill, but instead showed people doing high energy, intense, and extreme workouts. The informercial was for a product called P90X. I became intrigued and over the next couple of weeks did some research on it. This was certainly not your average training videos. All the reviews I read sounded positive about the workout. The only negative thing I could find about it was that many people just did not go through the entire full 90 days of training.

Here's a bit of my background. I've been an off-again, on-again user of a gym, typically doing weight training and some aerobic exercises. However, I haven't been to the gym in about 4 months so I'm starting off this routine as just an intermediate-level trainer. I've decided to cancel my gym membership and buy these DVD's instead. Considering the price is $120 plus shipping and handling, this was not a minor purchase.

I want to make the most of this purchase and I want to keep all of you readers in the loop of how it goes along the way. Whether you've already purchased it yourself and like to read about another user of the system, thinking about purchasing it and want to see what I've gone through, or just interested in what you're reading, then I hope I will keep you interested to learn how my experience goes throughout the 90 days with P90X.

My only goal right now is to get through all 90 days!!