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[Gumbie]

Getting ready to start X3 mass program. Honestly I just can't get excited about that first block....has anyone modified the first block to include more weights and resistance? I'm OK with the yoga but the Agility X and Pilates aren't doing it for me. Should I skip the first block completely?

 

[God Enel]

has any1 some good easy recipes with high protein and low fat/carb that's easy to prepare i.e. not really time consuming. I'm annoyed of eating just a piece of meat (turkey/steak) with a little bit of rice and a small salad. Some links/good pages maybe.

+dont feel yoga x3.. its kinda rushed imho. X2 Yoga>X3 Yoga.

 

[Majestad]

has any1 some good easy recipes with high protein and low fat/carb that's easy to prepare i.e. not really time consuming. I'm annoyed of eating just a piece of meat (turkey/steak) with a little bit of rice and a small salad. Some links/good pages maybe.

+dont feel yoga x3.. its kinda rushed imho. X2 Yoga>X3 Yoga.

Tuna salad with eggs, broccoli and peppers.

 

[casperOne]

And....PROGRESS UPDATE! Guys, today was my final final Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps routine, so I brought it as hard as I possibly could. I went from being able to do ZERO clapping push-ups EVERY SINGLE week until today when I was able to do TEN clapping push-ups!!!!! I seriously nearly cried after I did that. It was easily the happiest I've been since I started this whole program. I still can't quite believe it.

I remember those feels the first time I was able to rock a few pull-ups without an assist. It's the best feeling.

Congrats!

 

[SteveMeister]

Wrapping up X3 Phase 2 today, transition week begins tomorrow. Had a couple missed workouts this week -- did nothing on Saturday or Sunday, so Monday morning I did Eccentric Lower followed by Incinerator back to back. This was a great combination!

Then I skipped yesterday's workout because our well pump failed, so I wouldn't have been able to take a shower afterwards. Got that fixed, fortunately it was a minor repair. So I'm about to do MMX instead of Dynamix.

Gotta get better about those weekend workouts.

 

[God Enel]

Tuna salad with eggs, broccoli and peppers.

Alternative for tuna?

 

[Don't Laugh]

Alternative for tuna?

sardines?

 

[Gumbie]

Getting ready to start X3 mass program. Honestly I just can't get excited about that first block....has anyone modified the first block to include more weights and resistance? I'm OK with the yoga but the Agility X and Pilates aren't doing it for me. Should I skip the first block completely?

Any ideas Steve?

 

[SteveMeister]

Any ideas Steve?

I think you should try sticking with Pilates anyway -- it only shows up a few times in the Classic schedule. Getting good at it might be a good thing.

Feel free to replace Agility X with Triometrics, though -- the latter is kinda Agility X ++.

 

[God Enel]

what are your stats on the challenge? today i've tried 8 Pull-Ups (failed on the last 3 rounds of pull ups, did 6) and 18 push ups.. im gonna increase the push ups to 20 and drop pull ups to seven. or should i stick with the eight? your thoughts?

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So typically my weight has held around 212 with fluctuations up to 215 due to water the last few months. I did week 1 and 2 of P90X3 and weighed in at 212.5 at the end of last week (week 2). Monday morning I weighed myself and I was at 222. Now I ate poorly Sunday (pizza/dessert pizza/Jimmy Johns sandwich), but not like 20,000 calories extra poorly and I don't feel I look any fatter. Is it possible that the muscle gain from X3 is just now kicking in?

I have no idea how else to explain 10 lbs gained in like 5 days. It's super weird to me. I don't eat super healthy, but I didn't go that much out of the ordinary last weekend...

Maybe it's all the push-ups and pull-ups kicking back in and I'm gaining back that muscle.

 

[Ixian]

No way that's muscle gain; most of that is going to be water retention from all of the carbs you put in your body.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

No way that's muscle gain; most of that is going to be water retention from all of the carbs you put in your body.

Has to be some muscle, I think the pull ups are helping as my traps look bigger.

I always have water weight fluctuations and I've had days eating worse than that and never gained anywhere close to 10lbs.

Maybe it's just a combo of both. Looking in the mirror I actually think I look a bit better than I did pre-P90x3.

Oh well, on to yoga day!

 

[teh_pwn]

I'm wrapping the 3rd week of P90X3 Phase 2. I'm probably taking 2 days off. Friday for a date, and Thursday so I'm not burnt out from Eccentric Lower recovery on Friday.

Has to be some muscle, I think the pull ups are helping as my traps look bigger.

I always have water weight fluctuations and I've had days eating worse than that and never gained anywhere close to 10lbs.

Maybe it's just a combo of both. Looking in the mirror I actually think I look a bit better than I did pre-P90x3.

Oh well, on to yoga day!

It's a combination of both. See my post earlier about considering a cut phase. I was trying to lose 8 pounds, and in 2 days I was already 6 lbs and my waist 0.3" thinner than when I started P90X3.

Going back into P90X3 and eating bulky to gain lean tissue and I snapped back.

Muscle soreness, glycogen ,and digestive matter. It weighs a lot.

 

[Bigfoot]

So I finished T25 gamma over the weekend (all 3 programs done now). I think I lost the most weight during Alpha. I half-assed Beta too much so didn't get great results, and Gamma was basically getting rid of the holiday indulgence. However, overall I came out ahead.

I've been lazy this week... trying to decide if I should restart T25 or try something different. I think P90X3 is out of my budget at the moment but I do have a used copy of P90X that I've attempted a couple of times in the past. Maybe I should give it another go... I'm just not sure if I can fit in long workouts.

I'm thinking a mixed custom schedule of P90X and T25 might work. Anyone got any suggestions on 12 workouts from those two programs that should be part of a schedule?

I think Total Body Circuit and Dynamic Core are in for sure.

 

[mt1200]

Today I skipped a bootcamp group class at the gym, so I decided to do 20 min steady cardio + insanity's pure cardio routine instead.

Unbelieavable, I couldn't even finish it, I could do it for about 25 minutes or so and I had to stop because I was dead tired, besides I was very afraid that my knees would get hurt due to my lack of experience with plyometrics.

 

[God Enel]

Today I skipped a bootcamp group class at the gym, so I decided to do 20 min steady cardio + insanity's pure cardio routine instead.

Unbelieavable, I couldn't even finish it, I could do it for about 25 minutes or so and I had to stop because I was dead tired, besides I was very afraid that my knees would get hurt due to my lack of experience with plyometrics.

haven't done insanity for about a year or so but i remember that the workouts are really killing. some times i was lying on the ground for 5+ minutes to get down. When you've done 25 minutes of cardio before doing pure cardio i absolutely understand that you couldn't get through it.

by the way cvx is maybe the best workout i've ever done (a bit longer would be even better imho). can't describe why, its just overall awesome. anyone feeling the same?

 

[teh_pwn]

Rest days for the win.

Brought it with Eccentric Lower, and gains across the board. Except TTL Plus, for whatever reason I feel like I'm completely out of shape when I do that one.

Is it just me, or is Sumo wayyyy too easy. My max dumbbell is 35 pounds. I think I could do 50 with this.

 

[SteveMeister]

Rest days for the win.

Brought it with Eccentric Lower, and gains across the board. Except TTL Plus, for whatever reason I feel like I'm completely out of shape when I do that one.

Is it just me, or is Sumo wayyyy too easy. My max dumbbell is 35 pounds. I think I could do 50 with this.

Yeah, 35 isn't much for sumo squats. You're using you largest muscles in that one.

 

[teh_pwn]

My apartment is so crowded. But maybe I'll find some higher density dumbells so a 50 lber isn't the size of a beer fridge.

 

[SteveMeister]

Kettle bells are perfect for sumo squats, now that I think about it. I have a 60lb one. Haven't tried it for sumos though, but it could be a good weight.

 

[SeanR1221]

So typically my weight has held around 212 with fluctuations up to 215 due to water the last few months. I did week 1 and 2 of P90X3 and weighed in at 212.5 at the end of last week (week 2). Monday morning I weighed myself and I was at 222. Now I ate poorly Sunday (pizza/dessert pizza/Jimmy Johns sandwich), but not like 20,000 calories extra poorly and I don't feel I look any fatter. Is it possible that the muscle gain from X3 is just now kicking in?

I have no idea how else to explain 10 lbs gained in like 5 days. It's super weird to me. I don't eat super healthy, but I didn't go that much out of the ordinary last weekend...

Maybe it's all the push-ups and pull-ups kicking back in and I'm gaining back that muscle.

After 3 weeks? Maybe .5-1lbs of muscle realistically. Most likely water retention, don't sweat it (lol or do sweat it out )

 

[teh_pwn]

As we get fit, society continues to get obese-er. I went to Polo Ralph Lauren, and their latest stuff is full blown vanity sized. I was wearing a large custom fit polo with me, and the latest large custom fits were drapes. They say they're oversized because of the new material, but I just washed a medium and it fits the same. And their 33" shorts were something like 36".

 

[teh_pwn]

And with MMX done, I have completed all but the recovery week of P90X3 phase 2.

I think this is by far the best of the P90Xes. In P90X, I was out of shape and the warmup to Plyo was jumping squats. The warmup. With P90X3, I feel like there was a lot of thought into strengthening every part of the leg gradually. I can lunge up 2 stairs at a time without picking up much breath. It's kind of odd to see my coworkers kind of sloppily stagger run up stairs.

 

[SteveMeister]

Nice work!

I'm in the midst of my phase 2 to 3 transition week and it's been a tough one. I've been sick and have missed several of the workouts. Sigh.

I'm hoping to be back to normal this week, and at least get in the last 3 days of the transition week prior to starting phase 3 on Thursday.

I agree with teh_pwn, X3 is great. I feel like I'm getting more out of it than any program I've done since finishing X2 over a year ago -- that includes Les Mills Combat, Body Beast and Focus T25.

 

[teh_pwn]

Is there a way to upgrade to deluxe workouts? Looking ahead at phase 3 and I see some phase 1 workouts that were so-so or complex upper/lower.

 

[SteveMeister]

Is there a way to upgrade to deluxe workouts? Looking ahead at phase 3 and I see some phase 1 workouts that were so-so or complex upper/lower.

Yes, right here: http://bit.ly/1bzWl2k
Although it's pricey for 3 workouts. It was a better deal to get the bundle that included the elite workouts and a tub of E&E.

 

[teh_pwn]

-108 bottle caps

I didn't get it originally because I didn't know phase 3 would have been gimped without it.

 

[Pyrokai]

I am now a P90X graduate :>

I seriously can't believe I did it. It ended up being more P105X but....I did it!

 

[Barzul]

2 more weeks of Insanity left, I'll post before after pics when I'm done. My results have been pretty great.

I am now a P90X graduate :>

I seriously can't believe I did it. It ended up being more P105X but....I did it!

Congrats!

 

[teh_pwn]

I am now a P90X graduate :>

I seriously can't believe I did it. It ended up being more P105X but....I did it!

I recommend repeating or going to X3.

Immediately out of X1, you should be able to master X3 fairly easily. I plan on using it for maintenance because once you get 100% adapted to the workouts you can do them without pausing and they're only 30 minutes. Tony still manages to put cheese in there.

 

[SteveMeister]

I am now a P90X graduate :>

I seriously can't believe I did it. It ended up being more P105X but....I did it!

Congratulations!!

 

[Pyrokai]

Thanks, everyone!

I am definitely going to repeat it. My results were not quite what I wanted, but I think another round and I'll feel quite good about myself. Am I allowed to take a week off, though?

I was thinking about doing Insanity, but I don't think I should since my goal is actually to gain weight in the form of muscle. I think Insanity will just deplete my body of....everything including muscle :\

That's actually a concern of mine that I just started thinking about yesterday. I'm worried I'm going to lose muscle and all my hard work rather easily. What are some tips to avoid this from happening?

 

[SteveMeister]

That's actually a concern of mine that I just started thinking about yesterday. I'm worried I'm going to lose muscle and all my hard work rather easily. What are some tips to avoid this from happening?

Keep doing resistance training, basically. You could do Insanity but add in some of the P90X resistance workouts in a hybrid program, for example.

Here's a PDF of a Beachbody-designed P90X/Insanity hybrid.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

After 3 weeks? Maybe .5-1lbs of muscle realistically. Most likely water retention, don't sweat it (lol or do sweat it out )

Well I still weigh the same this week, so maybe it was some muscle and some fat? I swear when I start doing pullups/pushups again my muscle jumps back up pretty quickly.

It's just weird as hell to be at 212 for months then 3 weeks into P90X3 I jump to around 220 without much change in my eating. I do need to eat better overall, though. Bad thing is my pants are getting tighter, but then again I swear I look better in the mirror. A year ago I was at 202. My weight is insane.

 

[teh_pwn]

Thanks, everyone!

I am definitely going to repeat it. My results were not quite what I wanted, but I think another round and I'll feel quite good about myself. Am I allowed to take a week off, though?

I was thinking about doing Insanity, but I don't think I should since my goal is actually to gain weight in the form of muscle. I think Insanity will just deplete my body of....everything including muscle :\

That's actually a concern of mine that I just started thinking about yesterday. I'm worried I'm going to lose muscle and all my hard work rather easily. What are some tips to avoid this from happening?

Days off are good.

I'm doing Isometrix when I probably should have taken a day off. I can tell. The first move is hard to balance because my shoulder feels weak.

I'm taking tomorrow off.

 

[Deadstar]

Started heading back to the gym regularly again. My body is going to become incredibly strong! Have to stay on target.

 

[Tash]

After a weak long break (due to work and being incredibly tired and low energy) I am back on track and did Eccentric upper for the first time with the Chin-Up Max thingie..holy hell. My shoulders and back are killing me today and my neck is totally fucked (but somehow I think that's a good thing ). Anyway, the thing made sure I was able to do almost all repetitions of all the different pull-up exercises throughout. Felt pretty great.

I do feel like I've been hit by a car though..

 

[SteveMeister]

I'm back at it after a break, too. Been sick since last Thursday, so no workouts until yesterday's CVX (other than clearing 18" of snow on Thursday). Since it was a transition week, I decided to just continue with the schedule as opposed to restarting the week. Today was Yoga. CVX was tough, I still wasn't feeling all that great but I had to get back on track. Yoga this morning went well & I'm feeling a lot better.

Phase 3 starts on Thursday. Several new workouts involved -- I'll be substituting in the Elite workouts where the schedule indicates. I was reading a review of Decelerator, which is the first workout of Phase 3. Two words: Elevator pull-ups. Yeesh.

 

[Barzul]

Just figured out I've not been eating enough calories to encourage weightloss. I should be at 3500 calories for weight maintenance so a 500 calorie deficit would put me at about 3000 cal a day. I've been doing 2200-2400 which I think is slowing my metabolism. I'm upping my intake for my final 2 weeks of Insanity.

 

[Tash]

Little add to my chin-up max story. I wanted to see if I can do an unassisted pull-up without jumping up first. So I hang and pull up. It was easy that I actually bumped my head at the top on the door frame. I was not prepared for it to all of a sudden be so easy. Not only that..I did 2.5 unassisted ones after only a month of P90X3..it took me the full 90 days to do 3 during my first round of P90X.

Needless to say I am totally amazed.

Just figured out I've not been eating enough calories to encourage weightloss. I should be at 3500 calories for weight maintenance so a 500 calorie deficit would put me at about 3000 cal a day. I've been doing 2200-2400 which I think is slowing my metabolism. I'm upping my intake for my final 2 weeks of Insanity.

Very good idea. The hardest lesson I had to learn is to eat enough. At the end of P90X I was eating more then I ever had eaten before and was still loosing weight. During Insanity it was even more extreme. Once you go over the threshold and your metabolism goes into overdrive you need to increase intake to keep up with what your body needs. It was an amazing transformation to go through

 

[Pyrokai]

Little add to my chin-up max story. I wanted to see if I can do an unassisted pull-up without jumping up first. So I hang and pull up. It was easy that I actually bumped my head at the top on the door frame. I was not prepared for it to all of a sudden be so easy. Not only that..I did 2.5 unassisted ones after only a month of P90X3..it took me the full 90 days to do 3 during my first round of P90X.

Needless to say I am totally amazed.



Very good idea. The hardest lesson I had to learn is to eat enough. At the end of P90X I was eating more then I ever had eaten before and was still loosing weight. During Insanity it was even more extreme. Once you go over the threshold and your metabolism goes into overdrive you need to increase intake to keep up with what your body needs. It was an amazing transformation to go through

I just learned this myself, and I just finished P90X . For probably half of my time doing it, I don't think I was eating enough, but I never really realized it. Sorta changed my mini world a little bit.

Also, that's interesting about the pull-ups. Why do you think that is? Do you think it is because P90X3 is more effective for back exercising?

 

[SteveMeister]

Little add to my chin-up max story. I wanted to see if I can do an unassisted pull-up without jumping up first. So I hang and pull up. It was easy that I actually bumped my head at the top on the door frame. I was not prepared for it to all of a sudden be so easy. Not only that..I did 2.5 unassisted ones after only a month of P90X3..it took me the full 90 days to do 3 during my first round of P90X.

Needless to say I am totally amazed.

Awesome!!

 

[casperOne]

I am definitely going to repeat it. My results were not quite what I wanted, but I think another round and I'll feel quite good about myself. Am I allowed to take a week off, though?

Whenever I finish a cycle of a routine (whether it be a 60 day one like Insanity, or a 90 day one like P90X), I take a full week off. I try not to go nuts with what I eat, but it doesn't hurt to give your body an extended rest after all of that.

I was thinking about doing Insanity, but I don't think I should since my goal is actually to gain weight in the form of muscle. I think Insanity will just deplete my body of....everything including muscle :\

That's actually a concern of mine that I just started thinking about yesterday. I'm worried I'm going to lose muscle and all my hard work rather easily. What are some tips to avoid this from happening?

Everyone is different. What I typically like to do is two cycles of some P90X variant (for mass) and then a round of Insanity (to shred).

I'm not ripped or anything, but I do like the results.

Perhaps a good measure of the mass you lose would be to take measurements at the beginning and end of a recovery week? If you're doing Insanity, you willl be working out, the emphasis will just be different, so I expect muscle loss to be slower (although not that much) than if you were doing nothing at all.

 

[Barzul]

Very good idea. The hardest lesson I had to learn is to eat enough. At the end of P90X I was eating more then I ever had eaten before and was still loosing weight. During Insanity it was even more extreme. Once you go over the threshold and your metabolism goes into overdrive you need to increase intake to keep up with what your body needs. It was an amazing transformation to go through

Yeah I just have to make myself eat more. My results have been pretty good so far, lost 15 pounds, but it feels like I plateued or something the last 2 weeks so hopefully eating more will be the push my body needs.

 

[Tash]

I just learned this myself, and I just finished P90X . For probably half of my time doing it, I don't think I was eating enough, but I never really realized it. Sorta changed my mini world a little bit.

Also, that's interesting about the pull-ups. Why do you think that is? Do you think it is because P90X3 is more effective for back exercising?

X3 targets the whole core, upper and lower back in almost all exercises of all days. Heck even in Triometrics you work your back really hard (warrior 3 squats anyone?).
If you look for it you can find several exercises in every day that targets the upper back and shoulder area that would help with pull-ups.

However, I also think the chin-up max is part of this. I was never really happy with all the modifications I had to do for pull-ups of any kind (some were hardly possible with a chair or resting my knee in a band. Now I have the Range of Motion and can really hit the muscles needed with all the different versions (ie, V Pull-ups)

So I think it's a combination of the above

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Are regular resistance bands a decent substitute for a chin-up assist?

 

[teh_pwn]

The one criticism I have of P90X3 is that too many rest-ish days use the shoulders too much. I really pushed it with eccentric upper, and now Accelerator has me doing plank this and plank that.

 

[Barzul]

I've decided I'm doing The Asylum when I've finished with Insanity.

 

[SteveMeister]

Are regular resistance bands a decent substitute for a chin-up assist?

You can use them, but the chin-up max is safer because it's more secure, and you're not putting any "bend" stresses on the bands.