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[LaneDS]

Lane, what did you decide? Steelo is right, plyocide is really bad for your knee given what you have described

I decided on Saturday napping! But I'll do cardio x today and maybe give the knees a break. I'll be careful when plyocide hits for sure.

Anyone on the fence about Powerblocks, I just ordered mine (finally) from here:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12586133

Currently they've got a promotion going where you get the stand for free with purchase (normally $70, and it applies for free shipping), plus now they've got a 10% off deal running so the Powerblocks themselves drop from $300 to $270 essentially. There's still tax and shipping (on the blocks) but I felt $337 shipped for the blocks and the stand was really fair. Pretty excited to have a much larger weight range for future P90X and X2 rotations!

Edit: Apparently I got that 10% off because I signed up to their e-mail promotions list a few days ago when I didn't buy the Powerblocks. Sorry for the confusion!

 

[vatstep]

Tony has been going off on his Facebook today, haha. Lots of ranting, but I agree with most everything he says, as usual.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

Tony has been going off on his Facebook today, haha. Lots of ranting, but I agree with most everything he says, as usual.

Yea and like anything else, he is bound to run into trolls and contrarians. Even then if this 6 months ago i wouldve tuned him out and label him as a health nut. Maybe Beachbody will just tell him to shut it lol (and that would be sad)

 

[SteeloDMZ]

The Tony rant was awesome. He called Coca-Cola CEO the boogeyman. Lol

Anyway, oh man, doing Ab Ripper after a legs day is so exhausting. Just finished Base and Back, and I'm as tired as I'll ever be.

I'm still not sure if I should do another X2 phase 2 week (I've done 5 so far), or should I move to phase 3 (the post-active-potentiation phase).

 

[Legend]

Welcome, and yes for sure! Get a few different sizes though so you have some variety in resistances.

I did my entire first round of P90X with bands. They are awesome in terms of convenience and they absolutely work. You can see my results a couple pages back.

They're harder to build a lot of new muscle with (in my opinion) than dumbbells would be, but so much cheaper.

What are your goals/reasons for doing P90X?

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm starting P90X to lose some weight and hopefully build some muscles in the process.

I have another question, I've read somewhere that using a bar (for pullups) is better than using the resistance bands, is this true ? Because I have this weird metal bar at home that nobody uses, and I was thinking of hanging it in the door frame.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

Word is that using a pull-up bar gives you better results, which makes sense considering that your own body weight is way heavier than even the strongest band (the black, 100lb resistance band).

That being said, bands are still a great alternative, specially if you completely suck at pull ups and/or travel a lot.

 

[oatmeal]

Alright lads, I'm in...

Did Chest and Back yesterday, it's on like donkey kong.

One thing I regret from last time was not taking a photo when I finished (I only did about 80 days, though)...I have pics from day 1 to day 37 and it was pretty good. But I went further than that and didn't take pics I went on my honeymoon and tore up my knee and never got back into it.

Anyway...question...

Because milk has so much sugar, is it a bad idea to make a protein shake with milk?

 

[Ixian]

Because milk has so much sugar, is it a bad idea to make a protein shake with milk?

Milk probably isn't that bad, but if you're like me and doing a keto diet I'd recommend using almond milk, which has a few grams of carbs and less calories than regular milk as well.

 

[hxa155]

started Insanity (for the third time) yesterday, I hope I can make it to the end this time lol

 

[OchreHand]

Ugggggggghh Finished first day of plyo... Am I ...still alive?

 

[Ixian]

Ugggggggghh Finished first day of plyo... Am I ...still alive?

If you don't traditionally do any sort of plyo activities, then you're going to wish you weren't alive come tomorrow.

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

Ugggggggghh Finished first day of plyo... Am I ...still alive?

Nope. We all die after Plyo. The good results are all part of the after life im afraid.

 

[OchreHand]

If you don't traditionally do any sort of plyo activities, then you're going to wish you weren't alive come tomorrow.

Oh, god. and I walk to work, too.

Nope. We all die after Plyo. The good results are all part of the after life im afraid.

All worth it in the end! I hope!

 

[SteveMeister]

Insanity: COMPLETE. P90X starts tomorrow morning!

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

Insanity: COMPLETE. P90X starts tomorrow morning!

Grats man. I finished Insanity on Friday. Starting the Asylum tomorrow. Gonna go back to X2 after this.

 

[Harry Potter]

Grats man. I finished Insanity on Friday. Starting the Asylum tomorrow. Gonna go back to X2 after this.

Good luck! The Asylum is a lot of fun. One of my all time favorite workouts (Gameday) is in there.

 

[OG Kush]

Good luck! The Asylum is a lot of fun. One of my all time favorite workouts (Gameday) is in there.

Is it a big step up from Insanity?

 

[Not a Jellyfish]

Insanity: COMPLETE. P90X starts tomorrow morning!

Congrats man, I start Insanity tomorrow. Any advice?

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

Good luck! The Asylum is a lot of fun. One of my all time favorite workouts (Gameday) is in there.

I tried the Asylum once before. I finished P90X and thought id give it a go. Lasted 4 days and decided to give it a miss. Wasn't used to cardio at all since all the cardio in P90X is in Plyometrics.

Im now in the best shape and condition of my life after completing P90X, P90X2 and Insanity and I want to beat Asylum.

Will be hitting the bulk again after the Asylum.

 

[Harry Potter]

Is it a big step up from Insanity?

Ya for sure. Lots of sports drills and if you're body isn't familiar with them it can be a challenge. It deals more with speed and agility and the some strength training. It definitely prepares you for sports and making you a better athlete.

 

[LaneDS]

How firm do I want this stability ball to be? Going to try X2 core today out of boredom and a desire to eat like an asshole later (yes, I understand how flawed this logic is... but I might skip the terrible eating if I workout, right?!).

Also, Infinite_Daremo, you were the one that posted your day 1, day 90, day 150 photos a few months back right? P90X and 60 days of X2? If I'm remembering right, and I think I do, your photos were pretty much the "holy shit" moment for me deciding to give P90X a shot. If so, have you noticed even more fat loss/definition since your day 150 shots?

 

[SteeloDMZ]

The stability has to be "bouncy", otherwise is going to make a lot of moves a pain in the butt.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

I pump it where if you were to do push ups on it, the surface should pretty remain hard/flat even if your hands are pushing into it aka your hands shouldn't make a dent into the ball

 

[SteveMeister]

Congrats man, I start Insanity tomorrow. Any advice?

Not to be cliche', but dig deep and don't push pause. If you need to take breaks, take a short one & get back in it. Everyone in the "class" does this, don't feel bad about doing it yourself. But the whole point is to keep your HR up during the intervals and only let it recover during the 30 second breaks, so if you take too long a break you're defeating the purpose. Have plenty of water and a towel on hand, you will be drenched.

I bought a deluxe version that included Max Interval Sports Training and Insane Abs workouts. After your recovery week, you can sub in Max Interval Spors Training in place of Core Cardio & Balance, and Insane Abs for Cardio Abs. I did this and recommend it.

I also drank Beachbody's Results & Recovery formula immediately after each workout and I think it helped prevent soreness.

Finally, don't try to do any of the jumps fast until you learn how to land properly. Keep your knees soft and go into a bit of a squat to absorb the landing. Good cross training shoes and a jump mat or padded floor are essential.

One last thing: use a heart rate monitor. It's crucial.

 

[Hawkian]

Ugggggggghh Finished first day of plyo... Am I ...still alive?

Congrats. Plyo is a baptism by fire.

Gotta catch up. Quite a weekend

Insanity: COMPLETE. P90X starts tomorrow morning!

Congrats Psycho.

 

[LaneDS]

I pump it where if you were to do push ups on it, the surface should pretty remain hard/flat even if your hands are pushing into it aka your hands shouldn't make a dent into the ball

Haha, definitely saw my ball a lot more squishy than the folks using it in the video.

Core X2 down, although it might have taken me twice as long since the moves were unfamiliar and required a lot of rewinding and re-doing entire segments to make sure I was getting as much out of it as I could.

Burpees? Holy shit. I think I did like six with the medicine ball, sloppy, when the folks on the video were doing twelve. I also got a kick out of how many times Tony had to remind us that that one guy used to be really fat; I'm sure that guy really appreciated that.

All in all, that was a lot of fun due in part to the new toys (even the torture device known as the rumble roller was kind of neat) and I'm excited to try the rest of the X2 workouts (in a week, once I finish X).

Oh, also liked the leap in the air lunge moves where I will most certainly be pretending I'm Mario for future workouts.

 

[eosos]

Holy fuck. First day of week 5 and it was reallly intense. Definitely the hardest workout so far for me(Triceps, Shoulders and Chest). Wow, I almost couldn't do a few of the moves and I collapsed doing the push ups a couple of times. But I feel a ton stronger than I did 4 weeks ago!

 

[Hawkian]

Burpees are brutal. I thank based Tony there seem to be none in the entirety of P90X

 

[KingGondo]

Holy fuck. First day of week 5 and it was reallly intense. Definitely the hardest workout so far for me(Triceps, Shoulders and Chest). Wow, I almost couldn't do a few of the moves and I collapsed doing the push ups a couple of times. But I feel a ton stronger than I did 4 weeks ago!

Yeah, Tris, Shoulders and Chest is tough.

I think I really started to gain traction in Weeks 5-8--you'll see noticeable strength increases this month as long as you continue to push yourself.

...

Today was the last day of week 8 for me. Only 6 more to go!

 

[LaneDS]

Burpees are brutal. I thank based Tony there seem to be none in the entirety of P90X

Especially brutal if you're an idiot like me and don't fill up your stability ball enough! The medicine ball ones later on felt much better (but I was pretty shot by then).

Holy fuck. First day of week 5 and it was reallly intense. Definitely the hardest workout so far for me(Triceps, Shoulders and Chest). Wow, I almost couldn't do a few of the moves and I collapsed doing the push ups a couple of times. But I feel a ton stronger than I did 4 weeks ago!

That's a good burn right there! Keep it up y'all.

 

[oatmeal]

Milk probably isn't that bad, but if you're like me and doing a keto diet I'd recommend using almond milk, which has a few grams of carbs and less calories than regular milk as well.

I'll stick with water. Tastes like ass, but it will be better for it.

Just killed plyo. I have been running every day for 2-3 months so i think my legs were up for it.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

If you hate burpees, wait until you get to Plyocide.....

 

[Ixian]

I'll stick with water. Tastes like ass, but it will be better for it.

Just killed plyo. I have been running every day for 2-3 months so i think my legs were up for it.

For what it's worth, almond milk is 40 calories per serving, 2g of carbs with 0 being sugar so if you ever get tired of water... (I did after trying it twice, lol).

 

[3phemeral]

Also just did pylo and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting; however, I live on a 3rd floor apartment and I had to do a lot of the exercises modified due to vibrational noise. I suspect I wasn't getting as good of a thigh workout, but I did do a lot of wide-leg, deep-seated squats. Anyone have any tips on performing these moves while having people live below? Or better modified exercises?

Currently, for any jumping/squatting exercise, I'll usually squat low then stand up and hold position on my toes as high as I can push. Really difficult to find an alternative to the circle-around-the-towel exercise. Also, high jumps...not sure what to do there other than to also squat really low then tippy toe as high as I can.

 

[Hawkian]

Is getting a very thick plyo mat not an option for you?

 

[3phemeral]

Is getting a very thick plyo mat not an option for you?

I bought a shock absorbent mat, but the floor here really amplify sound/vibration. I suppose I could get that other, thicker blue mat that was suggested earlier, but I gotta save for that.

 

[vatstep]

Chest & Back was today for the first time since Phase 1. Going back to it after some time away, I think it's my favorite P90X routine. It's short, fast-paced and simple, but it's just such a great workout.

 

[deviant1]

I officially finished my first round of P90X on Saturday. I kicked off 2012 in very poor health and I was determined to get that under control. I've had Type 2 diabetes for 13 years now, and over the past few years I stopped monitoring my blood sugars and my diet went to crap. After 2+ years of not seeing a doctor, I finally went in December 2011 and got some shocking news, my average blood sugars were around 340 (should be 80-120), my cholesterol was high (HDL 120, LDL 107), and my blood pressure was 150/90. I immediately cleaned up my diet and after losing 7 lbs. in a little over a month I decided it was time to finally start P90X (which I had purchased last year and never even opened).

Fast forward to May 1st, and a revisit to my doctor and I was amazed at the progress I had made. Avergae blood sugars were 128, my cholesterol dropped to HDL 64, LDL 53, and my blood pressure was a perfect 120/80. My doctor said he'd never seen anyone make that kind of change in just 4 months.

Sorry that was longer than I expected.

I'm pissed that I didn't take before and in progress pics It took longer than the 90 days for me since I had a vacation week and 2 weeks I had to start over for personal stuff that got in the way. I also didn't follow the P90X diet plan, I've been following a low carb ketogenic diet since January 1st of this year.

Planning a second round starting possibly next week, but this time of year is so hard since just about every weekend is tied up already with some kind of obligation or housework. My goals for round 2 is to continue burning more fat, I still have quite a bit of a gut and some man boobage to take care of. Hope to continue gaining some strength throughout and I plan to transition to a Starting Strength/Stronglifts type of program after this round.

Stats:
Age - 33
Height - 5' 11"
1/1/12 - 205 lbs.
P90X Starting Weight 2/13/12 - 198 lbs.
P90X Finishing Weight 6/9/1 - 178 lbs.

Progress:
Wide Front Pullups
Starting - 0
Now - 10 unassisted

Chinups
Starting - 0
Now - 13 unassisted

Pushups (Standard)
Starting - 20
Now - 73 nonstop

 

[LaneDS]

Can't see the photos, but incredible job all the same deviant! Just imagine how much you can push yourself with subsequent rounds, and how your doctor will react to your sweeping changes.

 

[Hawkian]

Awesome job, deviant! Stellar progress, and the health/biofeedback benefits are just incredible. Welcome to the grad club!

 

[Harry Potter]

Great work deviant1! Your numbers are very impressive.

 

[gregor7777]

Chest & Back was today for the first time since Phase 1. Going back to it after some time away, I think it's my favorite P90X routine. It's short, fast-paced and simple, but it's just such a great workout.

Chest and Back in P90x is the best workout. I know it by memory (only 12 moves) and I do it all the time.

I typically substitute various forms of pullups for all the back moves.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

question on fat loss vs weight loss.

I have a scale that does the body fat percentage measurement thing, and when I started insanity I was about 19 - 19 1/2 percent fat.

I'm 5 weeks into the program and i'm down 4 1/2 kilo.

I'm 179cm and 77 kilo starting weight. Now down to 73 kilo and 17.8% bodyfat is the LOWEST I've seen on the scale, it's usually 18...

does that seem right? I look and feel a shit load skinnier and feel better doing the exercises, but was hoping the fat loss would be greater. I have no idea how accurate the scale is though.

 

[Hawkian]

How is it computing your BF%?

 

[LaneDS]

question on fat loss vs weight loss.

I have a scale that does the body fat percentage measurement thing, and when I started insanity I was about 19 - 19 1/2 percent fat.

I'm 5 weeks into the program and i'm down 4 1/2 kilo.

I'm 179cm and 77 kilo starting weight. Now down to 73 kilo and 17.8% bodyfat is the LOWEST I've seen on the scale, it's usually 18...

does that seem right? I look and feel a shit load skinnier and feel better doing the exercises, but was hoping the fat loss would be greater. I have no idea how accurate the scale is though.

How good of a scale is it? My bodyfat scale says I'm at 28% bodyfat, which I think is bullshit personally but don't know enough about it to say for sure (posted pictures recently, maybe someone can agree or disagree). I've heard a lot of bodyfat scales are wildly inaccurate, basically, and if you have some extra dough maybe doing a body composition scan would be worthwhile for you, or just start taking measurements using things like calipers and measuring tape.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

How is it computing your BF%?

little metal pad things. that zap you.

I will say that I have had it for 2 years or so and it gives... consistent readings. when I was starting P90x last year it started dropping, when I went back to living like a drinks a lot hobo, it started climbing.

what I would like to know is that assuming it's mostly correct... does the figure I posted sound about right? I've lost 4 kilo (8.8 pounds) and that equals around 1% of body fat.

I realise weight loss/fat loss are different things, but I'd like to know if that's a good/average or horrible result and if I need to correct my diet.

 

[Hawkian]

little metal pad things. that zap you.

I will say that I have had it for 2 years or so and it gives... consistent readings. when I was starting P90x last year it started dropping, when I went back to living like a drinks a lot hobo, it started climbing.

what I would like to know is that assuming it's mostly correct... does the figure I posted sound about right? I've lost 4 kilo (8.8 pounds) and that equals around 1% of body fat.

I realise weight loss/fat loss are different things, but I'd like to know if that's a good/average or horrible result and if I need to correct my diet.

No, I imagine that's about right, but I also feel like there's a good chance it'll be less accurate as you lose more fat but less weight.

 

[dab0ne]

Does anyone have a recovery drink alternative? I don't have any of that stuff (borrowed my p90x from a friend) and don't really plan on getting it. I'm using a protein powder I got from a local store called Myofusion. I drink one scoop of it immediately after every workout? Is there a better alternative or should drinking this be an ok solution to not having the real deal?

 

[deviant1]

Thanks guys. This thread was a constant source of inspiration and it helped to keep me motivated throughout. I probably wouldn't have busted my ass as hard as I did if it weren't for this place.

Does anyone have a recovery drink alternative? I don't have any of that stuff (borrowed my p90x from a friend) and don't really plan on getting it. I'm using a protein powder I got from a local store called Myofusion. I drink one scoop of it immediately after every workout? Is there a better alternative or should drinking this be an ok solution to not having the real deal?

BSN Syntha-6 is a great alternative to the recovery drink. It's affordable and all the flavors I've tried are amazing, easily the best tasting protein powder I've ever had.

 

[dab0ne]

Thanks guys. This thread was a constant source of inspiration and it helped to keep me motivated throughout. I probably wouldn't have busted my ass as hard as I did if it weren't for this place.



BSN Syntha-6 is a great alternative to the recovery drink. It's affordable and all the flavors I've tried are amazing, easily the best tasting protein powder I've ever had.

Cool thanks for the tip. Just looked it up and found that the stuff I'm using is comparable except what I use has less carbs and less calories. I can eat an apple or pear to compensate. Yum!

Edit: Oh, and congrats on your results man. Those are big improvements.