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[koam]

This frustrates me so much. I unconsciuosly suck in my stomach most of the day. Good posture perhaps. But when I let it go, holy crap what a difference. Had a 6 pack unitl I was about 30 then my metabolism slowed down and I can't seem to get it back unless I go on a life time fitness health streak.
I've always worked out 3 times a week and have introduced cardio in the last couple of years but I have the feeling I'm getting too old to get rid of my gut. =(

I've never had a 6-pack even though i worked out like hell when i was 24-25.. Now i'm 29 and i started P90X about 2 months ago and i'm finally starting to see early signs of a 6 pack. I just need to lose a bit more belly fat and I will be good.

The best piece of advice I can give you if you really want to lose that gut is to improve your diet. I'm sure that's what's preventing your gut from leaving. I know you're older but keep at it and it will come.

 

[Saerk]

I started this today, and I am worn out. My starting stats are 6' 1/2" 204 lbs. Belt size is ~34. I could do 55 straight push ups before starting this, but my core and endurance are weak. I had been doing the 100 push up challenge and the 200 sit up challenge prior to this. I'm looking forward to losing ~12 lbs of fat. Hopefully I can make some good progress in 6 weeks since I'm going on a cruise with my friends.

 

[nataku]

Are there any better sites than Livestrong.com to help me put together a meal plan using the portion approach? It seems like a lot of the calories per serving on LS don't really match with what the P90X nutrition guide says, not to mention all the different brands have a different amount of calories per serving and different serving sizes.

I'm guessing I just need to get the foods as close as possible? Does anyone here even follow the guide, or did you just make up your own plan?

 

[yonder]

I'm guessing I just need to get the foods as close as possible? Does anyone here even follow the guide, or did you just make up your own plan?

I found the nutrition guide to be quite confusing, the whole servings and portions thing especially. What I did was to generalise it a bit more: I follow the percentages of calories from protein/carb/fat instead of bothering with how many portions of each I'm supposed to have, and make sure to get the right amount of calories. Of course, I've stopped eating junk food; almost everything that goes into my mouth is on the "grocery list" from the nutrition guide, and I eat every three hours for a total of five meals a day.

A thing that makes getting the protein/carb/fat ratio right is to plan every meal according to the phase you're in, so in phase 1 the calories from every meal would consist of 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. It took me a bit of work to get it right, but now it runs like clockwork. As soon as you have figured out a few of your staple meals, things will be a lot easier.

 

[Saerk]

Holy shit! Plyometrics kicked my ass. I have come to the conclusion that I have no thigh or ass muscles. I was dieing way early in the program, but soldiered through to the 30 minute mark. I finished the whole program, but everything from 30 minutes to the end I was only able to get a few reps in before I was dead. I've been sore all day, and I imagine tomorrow it will be worse.

 

[DC R1D3R]

Holy shit! Plyometrics kicked my ass. I have come to the conclusion that I have no thigh or ass muscles. I was dieing way early in the program, but soldiered through to the 30 minute mark. I finished the whole program, but everything from 30 minutes to the end I was only able to get a few reps in before I was dead. I've been sore all day, and I imagine tomorrow it will be worse.

don't worry bro, 1st week is tough as a mo'fo! Just keep it up, eat well and sleep well.

 

[elwes]

I just got p90x a few days ago. I'm waiting for my friend (who's also doing it) to email me his workout routines and grocery list so I can start the program.

Just had a few questions.


1. I'm incredibly out of shape. I know people have asked questions, worrying about how hard this program will be because of how badly out of shape they are. But I'm REALLY out of shape. I'm 6'3", 330 pounds, and haven't exercised in at least 6 months. I know I'm going to have to modify my routines when I start, but how badly is this going to suck for me?

2. Can most of the exercises be done on a yoga mat? My workout area is going to be a wood laminate floor which is fairly slick. I have a set of perfect push-ups that I was screwing around with last week and I could barely do them because I was slipping around so much. The yoga mat is made of the material that sticks to surfaces, so I was hoping that would reduce the amount of slippage. Last thing I want to do is break my ass because of lack of traction. :lol


I'm really excited about starting this program. I know it's going to be hard and I know it's going to be hell to keep on doing it, but I'm so sick and tired of being fat. I'm not even doing it to look good. I just want to feel good.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I just got p90x a few days ago. I'm waiting for my friend (who's also doing it) to email me his workout routines and grocery list so I can start the program.

Just had a few questions.


1. I'm incredibly out of shape. I know people have asked questions, worrying about how hard this program will be because of how badly out of shape they are. But I'm REALLY out of shape. I'm 6'3", 330 pounds, and haven't exercised in at least 6 months. I know I'm going to have to modify my routines when I start, but how badly is this going to suck for me?

2. Can most of the exercises be done on a yoga mat? My workout area is going to be a wood laminate floor which is fairly slick. I have a set of perfect push-ups that I was screwing around with last week and I could barely do them because I was slipping around so much. The yoga mat is made of the material that sticks to surfaces, so I was hoping that would reduce the amount of slippage. Last thing I want to do is break my ass because of lack of traction. :lol


I'm really excited about starting this program. I know it's going to be hard and I know it's going to be hell to keep on doing it, but I'm so sick and tired of being fat. I'm not even doing it to look good. I just want to feel good.

1. it's going to suck a lot. But it doesn't mean you cant do it. probably start with bands as I dunno if you'll have a shit show of lifting yourself on a chinup bar. Although the chair does help with that. It's also going to hurt. I don't really know pounds, but it sounds like you weigh a lot, which means that you probably shouldn't do any exercises with the weights as you're going to be lifting your own weight rather a lot. The first week will suck and I mean suck horribly. I wasn't too badly out of shape, but I got a cold that absolutely floored me after the end of the first week, felt weak as a kitten.

I'm 3 weeks in now though and already lost 2 kilos, the whole 'turn up push play' and 'do your best forget the rest' sound cheesy but are extremely effective, don't worry about other peoples results and just do the program and make time for it. You'll be surprised how much better you feel after 2 weeks.

2. I have a slippery floor as well, if you want to use pushup bars, you can put the bars on the mat and it works pretty well.

stick with it. just do it every day, even if you're shit every day. If at 90 days you're still kind of shit, but not as shit as at the beginning, do it one more time through.

6 months you will see a lot of gains.

My advice would be not to weigh yourself and look for signs of improvement every day though, use the pictures they tell you to take as a reference and don't bother checking otherwise, it's discouraging to check every day.

 

[Eyemus Lutt]

I'm currently in my 4th week of P90X and although I'm seeing some improvements especially in my shoulders and legs, there's some things I'm finding really tough like Military push ups and the first half of Yoga. I'm very inflexible and have really bad balance and can't seem to keep my legs straight at all in certain exercises.

I went with a different route for my weight loss as I know myself and I knew I would lose motivation quick if I couldn't do the exercises at all or have to modify all the time.
I started at 88kg but I'm short and all the weight was basically in my gut and man boobs, so I went on a meal replacement diet for 2 months and lost 20kg by drinking shakes for 2 meals and eating lots of fruit and then having a meal for lunch but I cut out all sugar and carbohydrates from my diet.

I did lose the little muscle I had from before but I was then able to do 10-15 push ups and 5 pull ups when before I could barely get 5 push ups and I had no chance of doing a pull up.

I'm currently at 70kg and I think that's my ideal weight I would like, but there is still a bit of fat in my guts that I would like to convert into abs over time.

 

[f-castrillo]

Popping in to say hi. I had a pretty eventful Easter weekend, and a job interview this morning, so I was pretty pooped. I fought with myself for a bit before deciding to not do my Cardio X this morning (because I'm doing the Doubles variation). I believe it when the nutrition guide said that overtraining/exercising when clearly exhausted is just working against the grain and isn't such a great idea. So I skipped out on Cardio X this morning so I could get an extra hour and a half of sleep before my interview.

Easter, like I said, was pretty eventful, and I'm still in the process of catching up on sleep. Friday night I slept 6 hours, Saturday night 4 hours, and last night I slept 5 hours. I blame Final Fantasy XIII for last night :lol

I wanted to switch things up a bit, and today was my Plyo day. I substituted Plyometrics for Interval X Plus today.... I think I may continue to do that until the end of P90X (I have 2 weeks left + recovery week). Interval X is pretty killer for the 40 minute workout that it is, clocking in at almost 20 minutes shorter than Plyo. I like that decreased time Interval X Plus is much more friendly to your joints, as there's less jumping, but more total body cardio involved. My heart rate hovered between 154-162 usually, but I saw it spike to 172 once, a new high for me, as my highest is usually 166. In contrast, I usually hold 144-156 in Plyo.

I'm thinking of substituting Kenpo X with Kenpo Cardio X Plus as well, just to add more variety to the end of my first 90 days. Then when it's all done, I'm heavily considering a P90X+/Insanity run through. Not sure how I wanna structure it, as I wanted to do a regular run through of Insanity before doing a hybrid, but at the same time, I kind of wanna do P90X+ already. Maybe I'll replace all the X+ Cardio exercises with some of the Insanity workouts. I don't know yet.

 

[bionic77]

Almost 3 weeks in and the biggest change for me is how much stronger my core has gotten. I have noticed that strengthening my core helped the most for doing better in the second half of workouts and in exercises that were my worst. In the first week I could only 2 of the standard pullups, now I can do 8 (only on the first rep and first exercise, my strength quickly drains for this exercise).

Weight loss seems to be slowing down, but I was not that overweight to begin with. I only want to lose like 10-15 pounds. Of that I lost about 7 in the first two weeks so I expect it to slow down.

Regardless of how much muscle I gain at the end I already feel 100x better than when I started.

 

[Grecco]

I got P90 today and plan on starting tomorow. Ill move on to P90x at the end of that. Im simply not in shape for X just yet.

Curious about the diet plan though. Am i supposed to eat 5 meals? what kind of stuff

 

[Burger]

@elwes, that's some cracker advice from Catfish. Good luck! Do your best... and forget the rest!

I'll also do a bit of an update. Day 38 today, with Yoga to look forward to later. I picked up some 6kg weights after the 3kg ones just were not heavy enough. So I've gone from bands in Phase 1 to a chin up bar and weights in Phase 2. If I could start again I would fuck the bands right off. Didn't feel sore enough after some workouts, and think I wasted my time with them to be honest. Now I want to get heavier weights, like 10kg. I want to be feeling the burn after 6 reps.

Feeling results though, I can see muscle development on both my arms and legs. They were just sort of saggy and useless before.

I can't wait for Day 90, when I get to do it all over again!

 

[BobLoblaw]

I got P90 today and plan on starting tomorow. Ill move on to P90x at the end of that. Im simply not in shape for X just yet.

Curious about the diet plan though. Am i supposed to eat 5 meals? what kind of stuff

I'm not sure what kinda results you're aiming for, but if it's to put on muscle mass and get ripped, you'll definitely need to get a diet/supplement plan in place. I'd recommend some BCAA/Glutamine supplements in addition to your Whey protein powder for the basics. My diet so far consists of plenty of eggs(I boil them), milk, nuts, protein bars, fruits, tuna, and stuff like that. Basically, you'll need to eat your body weight in protein (ie., 170 grams for me since I weight 170 lbs.)

 

[tigerin]

hey guys. first post here and i would like to dedicate it to my fellow p90xers lol. it's nice to see a p90x thread on neogaf and everyone is being so supportive for each other. i'm currently on my third rounds of p90x and day 217. even tho i have been doing it for a while but there are quite a few exercises i can't do, so don't be discourage guys. we're in this together and i believe if i can do it, then you can too!!!!! =)

 

[Masta_Killah]

Popping in to say hi. I had a pretty eventful Easter weekend, and a job interview this morning, so I was pretty pooped. I fought with myself for a bit before deciding to not do my Cardio X this morning (because I'm doing the Doubles variation). I believe it when the nutrition guide said that overtraining/exercising when clearly exhausted is just working against the grain and isn't such a great idea. So I skipped out on Cardio X this morning so I could get an extra hour and a half of sleep before my interview.

Easter, like I said, was pretty eventful, and I'm still in the process of catching up on sleep. Friday night I slept 6 hours, Saturday night 4 hours, and last night I slept 5 hours. I blame Final Fantasy XIII for last night :lol

I wanted to switch things up a bit, and today was my Plyo day. I substituted Plyometrics for Interval X Plus today.... I think I may continue to do that until the end of P90X (I have 2 weeks left + recovery week). Interval X is pretty killer for the 40 minute workout that it is, clocking in at almost 20 minutes shorter than Plyo. I like that decreased time Interval X Plus is much more friendly to your joints, as there's less jumping, but more total body cardio involved. My heart rate hovered between 154-162 usually, but I saw it spike to 172 once, a new high for me, as my highest is usually 166. In contrast, I usually hold 144-156 in Plyo.

I'm thinking of substituting Kenpo X with Kenpo Cardio X Plus as well, just to add more variety to the end of my first 90 days. Then when it's all done, I'm heavily considering a P90X+/Insanity run through. Not sure how I wanna structure it, as I wanted to do a regular run through of Insanity before doing a hybrid, but at the same time, I kind of wanna do P90X+ already. Maybe I'll replace all the X+ Cardio exercises with some of the Insanity workouts. I don't know yet.

I've seen Insanity. My suggestion is to do the p90x resistance workouts and to do the Insanity pure cardio workouts. The way Insanity works, you'll be burning a ton of muscle and fat since the entire program is HIIT. You'd have to eat a ton of food just to maintain your weight, which is tough considering you'd have to eat healthy.

Glad to see new people jumping on the p90x train. I finished 1 round a few weeks ago and I can tell you it works. I was sorta questioning the results, since it wasn't anything radical(bodyfat loss mostly, weight plateaued at 190 after the 2nd month), but that changed after I started going to the gym. After a few days off of p90x, the swelling I didn't even know I had was gone. Now I can truly see what p90x did. My arms are leaner and have nice definition, my man-boobs that I had in January have greatly diminished(I can actually feel muscle after benching) and my stomach no longer droops like a it did before. Also, the biggest change is the definition to my shoulders/neck and to my calves. I can actually see muscle definition showing.

Anyway, don't concern yourself with results. Most won't see anything until the very last month, and even then, you may not see the radical change until you've compared your day 1 pic to day 90 and allowed the swelling to subside. As for the workout routines, just try to match or improve on your numbers, either by raising the rep count, or increasing the weight. Anyway, keep at it guys, you'll be glad you did. Also, cheesy as it sounds, keep writing your ups and downs in this thread. I may have quit months ago if it wasn't for this thread. Just talking to people who are doing the routine, and sharing our struggles, is such a motivational boost. Really does help in keeping you focus during those hard days.

 

[Ill Saint]

Hi. New to this thread, though I've been reading it compulsively for a while now. I'm currently on week 2 of phase 2. I started P90X as a way to maintain my fitness and add lean muscle after doing CrossFit for 3 months.

Loving it so far and looking forward to getting into phase 3 and really pushing hard.

 

[Maximus.]

hey guys I am going to start this program this month after slacking off from going to the gym. Just want to know if I can successfully start off the program with just a pullup bar, yoga mat and resistance bands. I don't want to buy dumbells just yet. Can't wait to start this.

 

[TOM f'N CRUISE]

started the second month today . last summer i almost completed all of it but i injured my hand boxing.

 

[Ill Saint]

hey guys I am going to start this program this month after slacking off from going to the gym. Just want to know if I can successfully start off the program with just a pullup bar, yoga mat and resistance bands. I don't want to buy dumbells just yet. Can't wait to start this.

I'm using resistance bands. They were awkward at first and took a bit of getting used to, but I find they work extremely well.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

hey guys I am going to start this program this month after slacking off from going to the gym. Just want to know if I can successfully start off the program with just a pullup bar, yoga mat and resistance bands. I don't want to buy dumbells just yet. Can't wait to start this.

Dumbbells would be better to be honest. Resistance bands are a bit lacking as you can't always get an equal amount of resistance on each arm.

 

[elwes]

Thanks for the responses.

I know that I won't be able to do alot of the exercises very well at the start, but I'm still going to try my best.

My friend just emailed me the diet plan/grocery list that he created for the program. I'm going to modify it to my tastes and get started later this week.

 

[Burger]

Thanks for the responses.

I know that I won't be able to do alot of the exercises very well at the start, but I'm still going to try my best.

My friend just emailed me the diet plan/grocery list that he created for the program. I'm going to modify it to my tastes and get started later this week.

Good luck man! Don't get discouraged if you feel wiped out after 15 minutes into an hour workout. Just keep a record of what you are doing. Here is a link to a calendar I made which I like more than the one you get with the program, print it out nice and big and stick it to your bedroom wall. If you could only do half a workout, write that down, if you 'brought it' and smashed a workout, write that down.

It will be highly encouraging over the course of time to see how much more you can do!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1697005/P90X.pdf

 

[Grecco]

I'm not sure what kinda results you're aiming for, but if it's to put on muscle mass and get ripped, you'll definitely need to get a diet/supplement plan in place. I'd recommend some BCAA/Glutamine supplements in addition to your Whey protein powder for the basics. My diet so far consists of plenty of eggs(I boil them), milk, nuts, protein bars, fruits, tuna, and stuff like that. Basically, you'll need to eat your body weight in protein (ie., 170 grams for me since I weight 170 lbs.)

Well im 25pds overweight. I want to mostly shed that and get in shape. Not get massively ripped or anything. I do plan on eating more protein though

 

[TheKurgan]

So my wife is on a bit of a fitness kick and picked up the P90x videos, chin up bar, rez bands, etc. She wants me to try it out with her tonight. After reading this thread I am pretty sure I will have a heart attack. 6 months of drinking beer, watching hockey and playing video games has not done my body good. Nice knowing you GAF...

 

[grumble]

So my wife is on a bit of a fitness kick and picked up the P90x videos, chin up bar, rez bands, etc. She wants me to try it out with her tonight. After reading this thread I am pretty sure I will have a heart attack. 6 months of drinking beer, watching hockey and playing video games has not done my body good. Nice knowing you GAF...

This is a huge winning situation for you. Just make sure to keep going, and to keep her going. Then you'll not only be in good shape, you'll have a fit wife!

 

[effzee]

my gf used to be over weight and over the past yr and a half lost tons of weight. she works out all the time (cardio at least 4 times a week plus pilates and light weight lifting) but lately shes been getting down on herself cause she is still not at her ideal weight and has even seen a increase in weight while working out. any advice? should i suggest p90x? she only has a few pounds left to shed and i think maybe she needs to switch her routine up and try this program to see some results.

suggestions?

 

[f-castrillo]

I've seen Insanity. My suggestion is to do the p90x resistance workouts and to do the Insanity pure cardio workouts. The way Insanity works, you'll be burning a ton of muscle and fat since the entire program is HIIT. You'd have to eat a ton of food just to maintain your weight, which is tough considering you'd have to eat healthy.

...


Anyway, don't concern yourself with results. Most won't see anything until the very last month, and even then, you may not see the radical change until you've compared your day 1 pic to day 90 and allowed the swelling to subside. As for the workout routines, just try to match or improve on your numbers, either by raising the rep count, or increasing the weight. Anyway, keep at it guys, you'll be glad you did. Also, cheesy as it sounds, keep writing your ups and downs in this thread. I may have quit months ago if it wasn't for this thread. Just talking to people who are doing the routine, and sharing our struggles, is such a motivational boost. Really does help in keeping you focus during those hard days.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking of doing too. I was probably gonna do the resistance workouts from P90X+, and swap out Kenpo Cardio X Plus and Interval X Plus for something out of Insanity. Maybe in Phase 1 of X+, I'll do Plyo Cardio Circuit and Pure Cardio, and keep Yoga X

I'm definitely seeing my results now. Like Masta_killah said, the results show up really late, but when they do, they really help motivate you to push the extra mile in your final month. I didn't see a huge change in phase 1, but I made a bigger change in phase 2. I've got 2 weeks left + recovery week, and I've already noticed a slightly bigger change than phase 2 presented. I can't wait to see what my body can pull off in the next few weeks

 

[voodoojohn]

I started going to the gym recently, but it feels like I'm too out of shape to get much out of it. After reading this thread, I think the P90/X routine might get me fit enough to actually make something out of a gym routine. To give you my current stats, I'm 5'9" and about 150 pounds. Besides my back, I have very, very little muscle, and I guess you could describe me as skinnyfat. Skinny arms, lanky legs, a small belly, and small man-boobs. Given my goals - to become athletic enough to go to the gym and be confident that I'll see gains - do you think either P90 or P90X would be appropriate for me? If so, considering my current (lack of) athletic ability, do you think P90 would be MORE appropriate than P90X? I do plenty of brisk walking and I can jog okay, and in terms of bodyweight exercises... I think I can max out at 25 push-ups in a single set and I don't think I can do a single pull-up.

In terms of nutrition, how strictly do I need to follow the guidelines they lay out? I have less flexibility than others when it comes to what I eat, since I split the grocery bill with my roommates and we cook together. We typically make healthy stuff... lots of Asian-inspired chicken and pork dishes with a variety of veggies for dinner, which is always supplemented by rice. Lunch is often leftovers or I warm up some chicken breast nuggets and eat that with a pbj sandwich. Breakfast is usually cereal or milk and a fruit. The only things I drink are water, orange juice, milk, and vitamin water.

Lastly, just to make sure I got this right... I need to get the videos, a yoga mat, the pull-up bar, and a set of dumbells, right? Does anybody have a recommendation for a cheap set of dumbbels I can order online that would fit the needs of this program? Also, where's the best place to get the videos on the cheap?

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[Stahsky]

I went smooth on this P90x for a little over a month before school started and I lost interest. Now that I'm finally not sick and doing well enough in my classes (aside from being a few weeks behind in one class due to sickness) I'm going to dive back in this monday. I haven't touched it since the start of the semester and it's starting to piss me off.

 

[Burger]

I started going to the gym recently, but it feels like I'm too out of shape to get much out of it. After reading this thread, I think the P90/X routine might get me fit enough to actually make something out of a gym routine. To give you my current stats, I'm 5'9" and about 150 pounds. Besides my back, I have very, very little muscle, and I guess you could describe me as skinnyfat. Skinny arms, lanky legs, a small belly, and small man-boobs. Given my goals - to become athletic enough to go to the gym and be confident that I'll see gains - do you think either P90 or P90X would be appropriate for me? If so, considering my current (lack of) athletic ability, do you think P90 would be MORE appropriate than P90X? I do plenty of brisk walking and I can jog okay, and in terms of bodyweight exercises... I think I can max out at 25 push-ups in a single set and I don't think I can do a single pull-up.

In terms of nutrition, how strictly do I need to follow the guidelines they lay out? I have less flexibility than others when it comes to what I eat, since I split the grocery bill with my roommates and we cook together. We typically make healthy stuff... lots of Asian-inspired chicken and pork dishes with a variety of veggies for dinner, which is always supplemented by rice. Lunch is often leftovers or I warm up some chicken breast nuggets and eat that with a pbj sandwich. Breakfast is usually cereal or milk and a fruit. The only things I drink are water, orange juice, milk, and vitamin water.

Lastly, just to make sure I got this right... I need to get the videos, a yoga mat, the pull-up bar, and a set of dumbells, right? Does anybody have a recommendation for a cheap set of dumbbels I can order online that would fit the needs of this program? Also, where's the best place to get the videos on the cheap?

Thanks a lot in advance!

I was pretty much in the same shape you are in now, except 5'11" and 170lb. P90X (halfway through Phase 2, Day 40) has put on muscle everywhere. Legs, Arms, Shoulders, Back. I can feel the difference it's making. The cardio is also doing a lot for my general fitness.

I'm not following the nutrition guide at all, or measuring my carbs vs proteins. I'm just eating healthy food. I cheat a little every now and then. If I don't have good enough results by the end of the first round, I'll try to stick to the plan harder next time. So far so good however.

As for the equipment, you've got it pretty much right. You can use resistance bands instead of weights, but weights are better in my opinion. I couldn't really recommend anything as I probably don't live in the same country as you.

 

[grumble]

my gf used to be over weight and over the past yr and a half lost tons of weight. she works out all the time (cardio at least 4 times a week plus pilates and light weight lifting) but lately shes been getting down on herself cause she is still not at her ideal weight and has even seen a increase in weight while working out. any advice? should i suggest p90x? she only has a few pounds left to shed and i think maybe she needs to switch her routine up and try this program to see some results.

suggestions?

Suggestion: congratulate her, and then do P90X with her, diet and all.

 

[equap]

i hate it....BUT I LOVE IT!!!

 

[Burger]

I was watching TV the other night and was reminded why P90X is such a great program.

It was an old episode of Fear Factor featuring twins, and the first challenge was to let go from a moving helicopter and land on a floating platform of cardboard boxes on a lake, grab a flag and swim to a platform about 100 yards away.

Anyway, these 2 massive, totally ripped dudes show up. Massive arms, lean, bulging muscles, you know the type. So these guys hang on to this helicopter and one guy misses, has to swim maybe 30 yards extra than the other.

By the time they got to the finish platform they were both completely wiped out. One was so exhausted he threw up and had to see a doctor. These huge gorilla sized guys had absolutely no stamina. It was obvious that while they had huge muscles, they were totally impractical.

They lost the challenge.

 

[way more]

Can someone go over the main points of this program. I can't figure out what makes it unique from normal cardio then lifting. Is it the order of the workout or the timing?

 

[grumble]

I was watching TV the other night and was reminded why P90X is such a great program.

It was an old episode of Fear Factor featuring twins, and the first challenge was to let go from a moving helicopter and land on a floating platform of cardboard boxes on a lake, grab a flag and swim to a platform about 100 yards away.

Anyway, these 2 massive, totally ripped dudes show up. Massive arms, lean, bulging muscles, you know the type. So these guys hang on to this helicopter and one guy misses, has to swim maybe 30 yards extra than the other.

By the time they got to the finish platform they were both completely wiped out. One was so exhausted he threw up and had to see a doctor. These huge gorilla sized guys had absolutely no stamina. It was obvious that while they had huge muscles, they were totally impractical.

They lost the challenge.

Agreed that there are a lot of guys who get a hardon for muscles and forget about conditioning and endurance work, but there's nothing wrong with being strong (within reason). It's the lack of balance that's the issue.

 

[Burger]

Can someone go over the main points of this program. I can't figure out what makes it unique from normal cardio then lifting. Is it the order of the workout or the timing?

I think the main advantage for a lot of people is that it's regimented. I used to have a gym membership, but I had no idea what to do. This gives me goals, structure, nutrition information. All I have to do is show up.

 

[cwmartin]

All I have to do is show up.

And thats like 50% of success amirite

 

[OmniGamer]

Here are some fully-clothed pics finally ;-)

I'm terrible with clothes, between just not having much of a care beyond the lazy t-shirt and jeans look, and the annoyance of finding my size(especially pants length), i just don't buy clothes that often. Anywho, with the warmer weather coming in, i can't get away with covering up my oversized clothes with my big winter coat anymore, so i decided to do a trial purchase and get a new pair of pants, shirt, and a new belt from Old Navy. Pants are 36W (it is my understanding that old navy sizes run a bit big(?), but let's not burst my bubble yet ;-)), and 36L, shirt is L(Tall)




Couldn't resist a flex


Still have 2-fingers worth of breathing room


Side-view

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Can someone go over the main points of this program. I can't figure out what makes it unique from normal cardio then lifting. Is it the order of the workout or the timing?

The marketing is that it changes every few weeks so that you're never plateauing but always challenging your body in new ways. Part of that is probably BS, and some is probably true.

However, many of the exercises featured are motion-based, so you're really working all those support and secondary muscles. I find these a lot more beneficial and fun. The day that's the major exception is the shoulder/biceps/triceps day, when you'll do a lot of traditional, isolated lifting or pulling.

The program also focuses a lot on core, back, and legs, which many workouts neglect. To me, they're much more important than arms, though, especially if you're training for a sport.

 

[ocadman]

Here are some fully-clothed pics finally ;-)

Lookin' good man.

Feels like i've been at the same weight for the last couple weeks, so that's a bit discouraging. I've about to enter Recovery Week for Phase 2 and I'm hoping that what everyone is saying about Phase 3 is correct.

On a much more positive note, if you take away Fifer Scissors (I can only do about 10 before I have to take a break), I'm able to get through the entire Ab Ripper X exercises whereas when I first started I could barely get through the In N Outs before I was gassed.

Also, this might be kinda stupid, but I was doing Yoga X and I was doing that move where you're in a lunge and you have to reach behind your back and under your leg and I was able to clasp my fingers!!! Holy shit, I was fucking excited, I wasn't sure who to tell, but yeah, I was pretty damn happy for that one move.

 

[OmniGamer]

Lookin' good man.

Also, this might be kinda stupid, but I was doing Yoga X and I was doing that move where you're in a lunge and you have to reach behind your back and under your leg and I was able to clasp my fingers!!! Holy shit, I was fucking excited, I wasn't sure who to tell, but yeah, I was pretty damn happy for that one move.

Thanks man

No, that's not stupid at all...I remember during my initial round of P90X going from "are you serious?" to "oh sh*t, i actually did it!" with that move...it's been a while since i've done YogaX(starting again in May), but I remember the "Half-Moon" pose being the bane of my existence.

 

[equap]

I couldn't do the yoga video...

did you guys have a really hard time at first?

 

[ocadman]

I couldn't do the yoga video...

did you guys have a really hard time at first?

I had a really hard time. My balance was awful and the 1st 45 min killed me. As time goes on, you'll get a lot better and probably have the same reactions me and OmniGamer had when you find yourself doing shit you thought was impossible when you first tried it. You just have to keep at it.

 

[thorin]

I couldn't do the yoga video...

did you guys have a really hard time at first?

Definitely. The first half of the video with all the downward dog stuff felt like an eternity my first time. But I'm on week 6 now, and every week I improve.

I'd recommend getting a yoga block if you don't have one already.

 

[f-castrillo]

Here are some fully-clothed pics finally ;-)

Looks like the X worked out for you . Awesome to hear you're going for another round again.

I couldn't do the yoga video...

did you guys have a really hard time at first?

Yoga was b!TCH when I first tried it, let me tell you :lol

The warrior poses initially presented a ton of burn, and the one that still continues to set my quads on fire is the "reach under the thigh and behind the back" move. Flexibility isn't my problem, the amount of time spent in that squat is. It's getting better, but I still have to take a quick 1-second break in order for me to make it through. The entire workout continues to improve for me though, my flexibility is on the rise, so those twisting triangles and half moons are becoming easier

I've been doing a LOT of reading (BeachBody P90X Newsletters, Steve Edwards blog writeups, etc.), and I think I'm gonna go for an Insanity-P90X-P90X+ hybrid. I'll start off the first week with Insanity as designed during what would be my P90X recovery week (a little over a week from now). After the "recovery week", I'll integrate some X+ resistance workouts into the lineup. I'm trying to figure out my 90 day plan, but it's gonna be something like 60 days of Insanity with some X+ plugged in, and then an extra 30 days of X+.

 

[Micius]

I couldn't do the yoga video...

did you guys have a really hard time at first?

It was probably brutal for everyone the first time. :lol

I remember going into the program thinking it'd be just some unconventional stretches, and finding it making me sweat as much as plyo. When you don't actually know the program it feels a lot harder too, since the first 45 minutes is where most of the burn happens, the second half of the program isn't as intimidating. Like everyone else here have mentioned already, if you keep going at it you will improve. Though it feels like it'll be a while yet before I beat that Half Moon->Twisting Half Moon segment. I'm always so wiped out by that stage, and they make you keep your leg up throughout the position changes and stuff.

 

[Ill Saint]

Yeah, Yoga still kills me. I'm incredibly inflexible and it's quite frustrating trying to pull some of that stuff off. Oh well, gotta keep at it.

 

[Chittagong]

Ok guys, I'm going to start this tomorrow. I'll get my discs, a set of Golds Gym adjustable dumbells (up to 20kg each), a set of 3 resistance bands, a door strap and a yoga mat. I guess the box will come with instructions on how to rotate the DVDs.

I do have one question. I travel quite a bit for business. I'm often at hotel rooms or hotel gyms. Can I still do P90X in a meaningful way on the road, with just my resistance bands and door strap?

I'm planning to rip this to my iPad and watch from there.

 

[ocadman]

I do have one question. I travel quite a bit for business. I'm often at hotel rooms or hotel gyms. Can I still do P90X in a meaningful way on the road, with just my resistance bands and door strap?

Yea, you'll be fine. Any exercise they do that requires weights, they'll have a modified exercise you can do with the bands. Good luck and congrats on taking that first step. Just keep at it and you won't be disappointed.