p90x

[Malenko]

I do ab ripper X every other day (every 3rd day at most)
I dont do any other work out because it'd interfere with the core and cardio regiment Im already on.

crunchy frogs and mason twists still pWnD ---my bottom---

[ChadTower]

I need to get back to it.  When my ankle healed the pink slip rumours started floating... I ended up picking up a couple extra projects as a hedge and didn't restart the program because of how many hours I was working.  That put me behind enough on the cardio training too that I might not make tri season this year.   

Oh well, keeping the job is more important.  Gotta pay the mortgage.

[Cakemeister]

I ate a package of chocolate Zingers today.....

[SavannahLion]

 

Got a hold of the P90X from someone sometime last week. I was going to get into the pamphlets and see if I can get into it, but I caught a nasty flu/cold/ilness/whatever this is around the same time and haven't had much gumption to even look at the paper box.

So how does this work exactly? I was told I'm supposed to get on the P90X website and start the same time with a group for the moral support and just follow through with the discs? I was just going to start when I get over this illness, group be damned.

[ChadTower]

You don't have to do any of that... the core is the workouts and the diet.  All of the website stuff is additional and frankly doesn't really provide anything.  The website is really obtuse and doesn't connect you with other people unless you subscribe for an additional fee.

[Dartful Dodger]

The million Dollar Body website is good if you're like me and you don't write down your work-outs on paper. I just update the calendar so I know when and what I've done.

You should get a work-out buddy.  These work-outs are only as hard as you want them to be, so if you have a wife or girlfriend you should ask them to do it with you.  My friend's wife was doing it with us and she was getting better/faster results, so she became the lead motivator of our group.

[SavannahLion]

You should get a work-out buddy.  These work-outs are only as hard as you want them to be, so if you have a wife or girlfriend you should ask them to do it with you.  My friend's wife was doing it with us and she was getting better/faster results, so she became the lead motivator of our group.

Yeah, people keep telling me that. Thing is, I'm an intensely private person in the Real World (tm). I've done more exercise between girlfriends doing random exercises while watching episodes of Stargate and X-files with no one in the house than I ever did living with anyone at any time in my life. Personally, I think the big issue is not having people around who have the same mindset as you. In other words, no one I know thinks like I do, therefor I never do anything with anybody. Whenever I want to write code, people want to talk. When I want to exercise, they want talk. When I try to play games, they want to talk. etc. etc. ggrr..

[shmokes]

Frankly, I don't think a workout partner is all that important for p90x.  The people on the TV are your workout partners.  Normally a workout partner is good for getting you to the gym in the first place and keeping you motivated, but if you can manage getting started on your own, the videos are seriously a lot better than just about any workout partner could hope to be.  They keep you motivated and the set your pace and all that.  Just get the excel spreadsheet and start doing the program.  You don't need anyone to do it with at all.

[Dartful Dodger]

This is a really intense program.  I think Tony even says something like "Most programs would be done by now, ... but not ours..."

When I do this work out on my own I'll stop at the halfway point.  and doing the 15 minute ab ripper after 50 minutes of the strength excersices is really easy to skip, even with partners.

Frankly, I don't think a workout partner is that important for p90x, just look at all the guys that started this, and all the guys that are still doing it.

The guys that are saying it's not important, are the ones that are now sitting in front of their TV’s with a box of Bon Bons.

[ChadTower]

I don't really need a partner for this stuff.  It doesn't add any motivation for me.  I have always trained alone for any sport and any regular exercise is just me doing what I need to be healthy. 

I don't have the energy right now for the full blown p90x with my work hours and family in transition so I grabbed the Power 90 and am going to try that instead.  Previewing the materials it looks like it will require maybe half of the energy of p90x so that's a good fit for me at the moment.

[Dartful Dodger]

Let us what you think of the Power 90.

[ChadTower]

p90x PLUS

[Dartful Dodger]

p90x PLUS

FOR P90X GRADS ONLY!

I'm now struggling to do it once a week, let alone 90 days in a row.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, I haven't even viewed the videos yet, but I'm figuring there's no way in hell I could pull that off any time soon.   

[shmokes]

I started back into p90x.  I've started and stopped so many times before that I didn't really want to bring it back up.  But today I completed week 4.  It took me five weeks, actually, because I went out of town for a week, but during the out of town period I ran three miles a day.  The most I've ever done with p90x in the past is just under two weeks, so at this point I'm pretty confident that I'll stick it through to the end.  

This all comes after spending the winter eating poorly and getting no exercise whatsoever, which followed almost four years of law school and studying for the bar, during which time I did not exerciser very much.  This last spring I was in the worst shape of my entire life, which prompted restarting p90x (which isn't to say horrible shape . . . I was still pretty thin, but I was weak and soft and had started to develop an alarming--for me anyway--amount of fat on my belly).  After only one month I am in the best or close to the best shape I have ever been in.  

[ChadTower]

Coincedentally I've been thinking of doing this again.  I ran a Warrior Dash in June and was disappointed in my cardio.  I could stand to get my bodyfat down to less than 20% again too.

[shmokes]

I've been combining it with the Warrior Diet (though I haven't always followed it as strictly as I should).  It is essentially a long period of undereating (skip breakfast and lunch . . . snack on raw fruits, vegetables and nuts to take the edge off hunger when necessary), and a short period of overeating (big dinner).  

It's a diet that is meant to be sustained indefinitely.  So far I'm a big fan.  I've been getting great results and I have a lot more energy throughout the day.  The after-lunch crash has so far been entirely a thing of the past.  I am alert and feel great (though I'm sometimes a bit hungry) throughout the day.  Then at night I tend to eat a lot.  I haven't found it to be very difficult, surprisingly.  I've lost a lot of fat over the last month, though I haven't dropped any weight.  But I've been doing p90x, which is a lot of resistance training, so maintaining my weight makes sense.  I'm actually hoping that I'll start gaining weight before long.

Anyway, the diet seems to work really well and has benefits aside from just physical health.  And it's not hard.  Probably everyone here knows that the easiest way to skip lunch is to first skip breakfast.  It's when you've eaten breakfast that you find yourself starving to death by 11 AM.  Dealing with the hunger during the day is actually far easier than dealing with simple cravings triggered by being around others who are eating tasty things.  So that takes a bit of willpower.  The diet also cuts down on grocery bills a bit, and gives you more time in your day (specifically the time you typically spend eating breakfast and lunch).

[ChadTower]

It's when you've eaten breakfast that you find yourself starving to death by 11 AM.

I have always found the exact opposite to be true.  If I eat a good breakfast I want a much smaller lunch.  If I skip breakfast I end up eating 1200 calories at lunchtime.

[shmokes]

Interesting.  Pretty much everyone I've ever talked to about it has said they are affected by breakfast the same as me.

[Dartful Dodger]

Congrats. I’ve been starting P90X every other month for a year.

My biggest problem with sticking with it is exactly what motivates you to stick with it. After 3 weeks I look and feel as good as I’d expect to look and feel after 90 days, so I quit.

I went on a beach vacation a month ago, so I started P90X 2 weeks before the trip.

After a week at an all inclusive resort I'm over due for my next P21X.

I’ve been horrible with my eating. The first time I did P90X I followed it’s diet by the book, but after a dozen or so times of doing two weeks of it I’ve realized I can eat like a pig and as long as I do the work outs I won’t look like one.


I have noticed that lately I’ve been doing fewer and fewer pushups when I start the program.
I’ll read up on that Warrior Diet and try it the next time I start up P90X.

[shateredsoul1979]

Question:

Has anyone done crossfit? I was wondering how p90x compares to crossfit. Crosffit seems to have the benefit of team motivation, but it seems that the P90x is more intense.

On the other hand, crossfit seems more like a lifestyle thing, while p90x is more a thing to do right before the summer or a trip.

[shmokes]

I know nothing about Crossfit, but p90x does have a group motivation thing going on at beachbody.com (Beach Body is the parent company).  I have no idea how it compares because I've almost not used it at all, and of course I have not used Crossfit at all (or even heard of it, actually).

[ChadTower]

I went through part of a strong Crossfit workout with a friend who swears by it.  Seemed to me like Crossfit would be something one could expect to handle after they've been through P90X.  Crossfit was harder and a lot more varied.

[shateredsoul1979]

Search crossfit, it's a pretty big phenomena... some people even describe it as a very cultish type club. It's all over the USA, in Canada, and started here in Santa Cruz. I go about 4x a week + plus a long bike or run on my own. It's pretty damn expensive, but I got it brought down a bit because i'm a student. I haven't really lost all that much weight, but my clothes fit a lot better.. .it's hard to tell when you're gaining muscle as you lose fat.

My huge downfall is food. I swear I'd be much fitter if I could eat smaller portions or avoid all that junk food. I was looking at p90x for those days when I wake up too late to make crossfit (I have to go to the 6am class because my wife needs the car for work). I do bike sometimes on those days where I wake up late, but on the bike back home I have to do a crazy hill..  It's too much to do both on the same day.

[CCM]

Has anyone tried the Beach Body - Insanity workout?   I hear it's umm... insane.

[Dartful Dodger]

Has anyone tried the Beach Body - Insanity workout?   I hear it's umm... insane.

"I Earned it." on a t-shirt makes more sense than "Bring It!".

[ChadTower]

As with anything else, in Crossfit you don't have to stay in the expensive classes with expensive instructors.  You can learn the basics and run the workouts yourself or with friends.  That's what I was doing. A friend of mine was in Crossfit classes for a while and then started his own group with his own training partners.  I didn't stick around but it worked out well for him and the couple guys who joined him.

[shateredsoul1979]

I don't believe in special diets.. really It's about eating more veggies and fruits than usual and reducing portions overall.

Of the diets the paleo diet aka caveman diet seems doable (lots of veggies and fruit, very little carbs), and the zone is really annoying (weighing your food? really!?)

[Donkbaca]

They should call it P14x 90% of the people I know quit after two weeks. Hard to believe people still buy workout videos, I thought that was an 80's fad

[shmokes]

I don't believe in special diets.. really It's about eating more veggies and fruits than usual and reducing portions overall.

Of the diets the paleo diet aka caveman diet seems doable (lots of veggies and fruit, very little carbs), and the zone is really annoying (weighing your food? really!?)

Any time you change you make an ongoing change to your diet that deviates from your normal eating habits, or from the way you want to eat, I'm pretty sure you're on a diet.  And considering the rate of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc., in America (and elsewhere), I'd say dieting is kind of an imperative right now.

The Warrior Diet, which has a stupid name, is based on the premise that evolutionarily, we are not meant to eat multiple meals per day.  As hunters/gatherers, we used to spend the day hunting and only had a big meal at the end of the day once we were safe from harm.  Wild animals behave in generally the same way.  But when captured and put in captivity they will eat and eat and eat until they get fat, sick and die.  So zookeepers have to ration their food and manage their diets to protect them from themselves.  The warrior diet is based on the premise that humans are, in a sense, in captivity.  We no longer have to hunt for our food.  We're not in danger.  We live sedentary lifestyles.  And we behave, dietarily speaking, as if we are living in captivity.

I won't say that I buy it lock, stock, and barrel (I simply don't know enough about us), but it is intuitively appealing at least.  It's an interesting and plausible idea.  Also, I've been doing it, and I feel great.  My fat is disappearing quickly, and I go through the entire day with lots of energy and alertness, entirely free of periods of sudden sleepiness. 

[JMB]

Also, I've been doing it, and I feel great.  My fat is disappearing quickly, and I go through the entire day with lots of energy and alertness, entirely free of periods of sudden sleepiness. 

What does your typical day work out to be like for food intake? Nothing until a big meal later in the day?

[shateredsoul1979]

Well my brother just realized one day that he was eating past the point he was full, ever since then he stopped eating once he felt full. He lost weight, and changed his eating habits, but now it's something that comes natural for him... dunno if I'd count that as a diet. Any change in the way you eat is too broad of a definition me thinks, I think of a diet as a temporary change or a change to lose weight on purpose or due to medical reasons.

I don't believe in special diets.. really It's about eating more veggies and fruits than usual and reducing portions overall.

Of the diets the paleo diet aka caveman diet seems doable (lots of veggies and fruit, very little carbs), and the zone is really annoying (weighing your food? really!?)

Any time you change you make an ongoing change to your diet that deviates from your normal eating habits, or from the way you want to eat, I'm pretty sure you're on a diet.  And considering the rate of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc., in America (and elsewhere), I'd say dieting is kind of an imperative right now.

The Warrior Diet, which has a stupid name, is based on the premise that evolutionarily, we are not meant to eat multiple meals per day.  As hunters/gatherers, we used to spend the day hunting and only had a big meal at the end of the day once we were safe from harm.  Wild animals behave in generally the same way.  But when captured and put in captivity they will eat and eat and eat until they get fat, sick and die.  So zookeepers have to ration their food and manage their diets to protect them from themselves.  The warrior diet is based on the premise that humans are, in a sense, in captivity.  We no longer have to hunt for our food.  We're not in danger.  We live sedentary lifestyles.  And we behave, dietarily speaking, as if we are living in captivity.

I won't say that I buy it lock, stock, and barrel (I simply don't know enough about us), but it is intuitively appealing at least.  It's an interesting and plausible idea.  Also, I've been doing it, and I feel great.  My fat is disappearing quickly, and I go through the entire day with lots of energy and alertness, entirely free of periods of sudden sleepiness. 

[ChadTower]

The Warrior Diet, which has a stupid name, is based on the premise that evolutionarily, we are not meant to eat multiple meals per day.  As hunters/gatherers, we used to spend the day hunting and only had a big meal at the end of the day once we were safe from harm. 

As hunters/gatherers we used to have a lifespan of 35 years.  As part time hunters/gatherers we had a lifespan of 50 years.  Factoring out truly advanced medical care what would the average lifespan be now?  60?  We evolved away from many things because we found better ways to do them.

[CCM]

Eating one big meal a day pretty much goes against anything I've ever read about proper eating/nutrition.

[Donkbaca]

The stupid thing is that all of these diets/nutritional guidelines talk about miniscule differences that don't matter in the real world.  There are a hundred different diets that claim to work in a hundred different ways, in reality they all are succesful for the same reason: they cut your intake of calories.  What ever rules you set up that help you do that is what will work best for you.  Low carb works because most high-carb foods are calorically dense and not very filling all these other diets are trying to accomplish the same thing, wheter its spreading out smaller meals throughout the day or whatever other trick, its all the same principle - get more active and eat less junk

[Mikezilla]

 

[Vigo]

If one meal a day made you thin, I would be a stick. I usually only have one meal a day right now, and don't even snack anymore or even have soft drinks. I know my diet isn't healthy because I am not getting enough nutrition early in the day. Also, I haven't lost a pound.

Thing is I don't get a chance to exercise at all right now. I'm sure if I had a chance to jog or bike, my body might decide to get out or hibernation mode.

[Mikezilla]

If one meal a day made you thin, I would be a stick. I usually only have one meal a day right now, and don't even snack anymore or even have soft drinks. I know my diet isn't healthy because I am not getting enough nutrition early in the day. Also, I haven't lost a pound.

Thing is I don't get a chance to exercise at all right now. I'm sure if I had a chance to jog or bike, my body might decide to get out or hibernation mode.

Your body is hanging onto weight because it thinks its starving. As Im sure you know, since you are a smart fellow, the body only burns fat when its shocked into doing so. Same way your muscles atrophy if you dont need em. 2 sayings that are completely true: You dont use it, you lose it, and no pain, no gain. 

[Mikezilla]

Yep, and the average person only uses 2% of their brain!



How many other health myths we gonna repeat? 

That is WAYY too old of a statistic. Im sure we are at LEAST 7 percent now. 

[ChadTower]

I walk around this town looking at the dairy cow stares people sport and think we're down to 1%.