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[BeautifulMemory]

Serious answer, the mirror. That plus compliments from others fuels the fire. I just saw some old friends I had not seen in 10 years yesterday and their first comments were "you're still skinny!". As a 40 year old, that was good to hear. Those things help boost your self-esteem and in turn spur you on to continue. About 3 weeks in, P90X moved way up on the priority list. That may or may not happen to you, but it did for me. It would bother me if I couldn't work out. I didn't miss a single workout in 90 days because of that.

As far as time is concerned, do an inventory of how much time you actually spend doing things. For me, I was surprised at how much time I spent doing nothing, like sitting on the couch watching tv or on the computer surfing the net. Turn one of those hours into exercise and you're golden.

For me, it's all about time management. I don't waste time online or watching tv and I work two jobs, one is full time and the other I hope to be full time. As soon as I get home from work, I do some quick chores around the house, then do P90X, then go work on my other job until it's bed time (6 hours later).

Thank you for the feedback. I am trying to stay motivated and trying to manage time better, especially like you said about surfing on the web. I have definitely lost weight but I have a small build to begin with so it's less noticably

One thing I did notice was that I was getting bored with the workout, which was the most common criticism against Power 90. I was doing Level 1/2 and was getting too comfortable (counting down the clock). So I decided it's time to try level 3/4. And funnily, although it is longer and more intense, time goes by faster and I am having fun again. It is a nice challenge! There's something about working hard and being sore that's kind of rewarding...and besides I was told if I am not pushing myself then I was doing it wrong

 

[NYR]

I've looked at some videos on the net and aren't these two work-outs pretty much cardio with a little bit of core? Are you not doing any actual weight-lifting at all at the beginning?

You can always swap in some weightlifting from P90x, that is what I plan on doing.

 

[dankir]

Y'all need to try 10 minute trainer as well. I started doing it the mornings and p90x at night.

the 10 minute ab workout especially, is awesome.

 

[Sipowicz]

Thank you og kush. I had a few other questions about your responses

2. I already have a weight bench in the house, barbell, dumbells, weights and a pull up bar. do you have a link to what else i need?
3. so does that mean P90x is fairly flexible? I wanted something clearly defined so i know what i'm doing on a day-to-day basis
4. do you have a link to the nutrition guide?
5. by this do you mean just repeat the whole thing again nutrition and all?

can someone answer these for me please?

 

[Septimius]

Thank you og kush. I had a few other questions about your responses

2. I already have a weight bench in the house, barbell, dumbells, weights and a pull up bar. do you have a link to what else i need?
3. so does that mean P90x is fairly flexible? I wanted something clearly defined so i know what i'm doing on a day-to-day basis
4. do you have a link to the nutrition guide?
5. by this do you mean just repeat the whole thing again nutrition and all?

There is actually a section on how to maintain your shape in one of the guides. There's no link to the nutrition guide, because that's part of the product. You should definitely not do more weight training than you already do in P90X. 6 days of training is already an insane amount, and 3 days of weight training is more than enough. There is a program that you're meant to follow, but of course you can make it into whatever you want.

It's really easy to find out what you need for it, so I don't see why you haven't just figured that out. It must literally be the first thing on their site. For the workout itself, weights, pullup bar and optional pushup bars is everything that's needed. You only need dumbbells for weight, nothing else.

 

[carlo6529]

Can anyone answer what kind of results i would see if i didn't follow the diet? I also honestly believe eating the way the manual describes is not possible with my situation.

I've never been in shape my whole life and have never really excercised on a regular basis. I could stand to lose about 15-20 lbs of fat as is right now (205 lbs total)and would like to tone up. I rarely get any excersise. I don't need the chiseled abs but would like my arms and chest to look more firm with a little slimmer belly. Can i achieve this without following the diet? Its not like im constantly eating take out and drinking gallons of pop(i could eliminate those all together fairly easily); i just live in a house hold with a mother that cooks tradional heavy Italian food. Also its safe to say the portions I consume are most likely double of the average person.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

Can anyone answer what kind of results i would see if i didn't follow the diet? I also honestly believe eating the way the manual describes is not possible with my situation.

I've never been in shape my whole life and have never really excercised on a regular basis. I could stand to lose about 15-20 lbs of fat as is right now (205 lbs total)and would like to tone up. I rarely get any excersise. I don't need the chiseled abs but would like my arms and chest to look more firm with a little slimmer belly. Can i achieve this without following the diet? Its not like im constantly eating take out and drinking gallons of pop(i could eliminate those all together fairly easily); i just live in a house hold with a mother that cooks tradional heavy Italian food. Also its safe to say the portions I consume are most likely double of the average person.

Others will answer better than I'm, but the key for me is about knowing how much calories you are consuming, how much you intake, and what you eat. You will lose weight by the simple fact that those exercises burn tons of calories, but you want to think about what you eat because you need to keep recovery and health in mind. 90 days and so on is really a marathon and you get most out of the workouts if you put earnest effort into it and can keep going


So for me I don't follow the guidelines either (this is for power 90), but I try to balance out my meal and also go for protein.

 

[carlo6529]

Others will answer better than I'm, but the key for me is about knowing how much calories you are consuming, how much you intake, and what you eat. You will lose weight by the simple fact that those exercises burn tons of calories, but you want to think about what you eat because you need to keep recovery and health in mind. 90 days and so on is really a marathon and you get most out of the workouts if you put earnest effort into it and can keep going


So for me I don't follow the guidelines either (this is for power 90), but I try to balance out my meal and also go for protein.

Thanks for the response. I'll keep these things in mind. What do you eat/consume after a workout? I've been reading a lot about protein shakes but i mean if i were to eat some fruit and consume something with protein, would that be alright? I don't like the idea of adding protein powder supplements; doesn't seem natural.

 

[mm04]

Thanks for the response. I'll keep these things in mind. What do you eat/consume after a workout? I've been reading a lot about protein shakes but i mean if i were to eat some fruit and consume something with protein, would that be alright? I don't like the idea of adding protein powder supplements; doesn't seem natural.

Scroll back some pages and read some of my responses about diet and other things. I didn't follow the nutrition guide, but I watched my caloric intake. It's VERY important that you track what you eat, religiously. It helps keep you accountable for your diet and you know if you're not eating enough or eating too much.

 

[carlo6529]

Scroll back some pages and read some of my responses about diet and other things. I didn't follow the nutrition guide, but I watched my caloric intake. It's VERY important that you track what you eat, religiously. It helps keep you accountable for your diet and you know if you're not eating enough or eating too much.

I've read your posts, thanks for pointing them out and congrats on completing your first round of the program.

Im gonna try to eat the same food, just slightly cut back on portions and avoid the complete garbage stuff and also make sure to consume something after workouts to help recover.

I'll see what happens from there and see if im satisfied with the results.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

Thanks for the response. I'll keep these things in mind. What do you eat/consume after a workout? I've been reading a lot about protein shakes but i mean if i were to eat some fruit and consume something with protein, would that be alright? I don't like the idea of adding protein powder supplements; doesn't seem natural.

Based on this thread ( I once browsed from the 1st page), the best in general and in terms of cost-effectiveness is chocolate milk. I do nonfat + syrup.

I think it works. I mean, power 90 is not an extreme set like the p90x, but it's still a workout - I find my recovery just fine as I'm not terribly sore and able to keep on going

And ditto again on the calorie count. You can eat your own stuff but you need to keep in mind how healthy it is, how it will contribute to you working out both short and long term, and you need to make sure if fits into your schedule

So for me I'm lazy, I just focus on eating the stuff I like within reason. So if they say eat vegetables, I eat a lot of spinach; they say eat protein, so I eat lots of fish and whatnots

 

[Gruco]

So, how many others are firing up X2 come January? I haven't done anything yet, on account of holiday travels, but am definitely looking forward to it. More rest, shorter yoga, and what appears to be a much better ab ripper should be enough to carry me through the growing pains as I get used to this.

 

[Nightz]

So I got P90X2 and they sent me DVD's instead of Blu-rays. I contacted their support and they said that they'd send me the Blu-rays and I can keep the DVD's. I got a package today and they sent me another Deluxe set. O_O

 

[FOOTE]

Going for a P90x/Insanity hybrid starting today. Never did a Insanity workout before, not sure if I'm dreading it, or looking forward to it.

 

[obijkenobi]

So I got P90X2 and they sent me DVD's instead of Blu-rays. I contacted their support and they said that they'd send me the Blu-rays and I can keep the DVD's. I got a package today and they sent me another Deluxe set. O_O

I'd be willing to buy the dvd's off you if the price is right

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Ordered P90X2 with some Xmas money. Went through the first one once, and then did random workouts from it. I'm hoping 2 is just as good, but more streamlined being that it is 5 days instead of 6.

 

[Ill Saint]

Just finished X2 Core. Awesome. Such a good workout, and fun as hell.

 

[Pyrokai]

Guys, I'm seeing the word "P90x2". Does that mean there's another one out there? Which should I use?!

Also, I'm currently a scrawny guy who is pretty thin but has a decent layer of fat around my midsection. I want to build up some muscle without becoming overly buff and lose the fat. I basically want to be fit and muscular while still being slim and have very little body fat. Is P90x for me or is it mostly for people who really want to bulk up or something?

I currently have the DVDs, but not the diet book. Is the diet book available online or something? I'm borrowing the discs from a friend but I can't start it without the diet guide

Also, how much of a requirement is it to have yoga blocks? They're the only thing I'm missing, I think, aside from the weights. I have the band...will that be enough or should I get some weights? What size weights?

SO MANY QUESTIONS

Thanks guys! I'm seriously going to start this tomorrow if my questions get answered and I find out about the diet plan.

Edit: I'm not trying to do anything illegal here when I asked about the diet book. I'm genuinely curious about it. My friend lost his copy and so...yeah....I don't really know what to do

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

I'd start with p90x first. As for blocks, they help in some stretches and yoga, but aren't necessary. I did my complete run through with bands, they worked well, but they do more for toning than muscle gain.

As for the diet book, I didn't even use it. I just did my best to eat decently and I lost 20 pounds.

For those with P90x2, how are the workouts?

 

[thetechkid]

Just started round 2 of p90x after being lazy since summer, wasn't the best but when I first started I just just as badly. I'm just glad I finally started up again.

 

[NYR]

Guys, I'm seeing the word "P90x2". Does that mean there's another one out there? Which should I use?!

Also, I'm currently a scrawny guy who is pretty thin but has a decent layer of fat around my midsection. I want to build up some muscle without becoming overly buff and lose the fat. I basically want to be fit and muscular while still being slim and have very little body fat. Is P90x for me or is it mostly for people who really want to bulk up or something?

I currently have the DVDs, but not the diet book. Is the diet book available online or something? I'm borrowing the discs from a friend but I can't start it without the diet guide

Also, how much of a requirement is it to have yoga blocks? They're the only thing I'm missing, I think, aside from the weights. I have the band...will that be enough or should I get some weights? What size weights?

SO MANY QUESTIONS

Thanks guys! I'm seriously going to start this tomorrow if my questions get answered and I find out about the diet plan.

Edit: I'm not trying to do anything illegal here when I asked about the diet book. I'm genuinely curious about it. My friend lost his copy and so...yeah....I don't really know what to do

P90x, no doubt. p90 is that is too hard.

P90x2 just came out on dec 1, but it is an advanced program designed to become more atheletic, not just a weight loss or get in shape program.

Diet book is online. Torrent. Buy p90x2 when you are ready for it. Or just buy the full p90x outright. It's worth it. However, the books sucks if you don't cook.

Stick with the phase program guide and you'll be fine - e.g. - phase 1 is fat shredder - google p90x diet plan for more info. Exact % numbers of fat, protein andn carbs are out there too.

Yoga blocks are not a requirement.

Weights are personal. Go to a store and do some curls. Do 20 or so. When the last 3 are hard, you found a weight. 10 pounds would be a good easy start, I would suggest 15s.

 

[Pyrokai]

Thanks, man!

So do I have everything I need to start?:

-DVDs

-yoga blocks (I decided I'm going to buy these tomorrow)

-pull-up bar (it doesn't double for push-ups...should I get those so I don't hurt my hands or wrists?)

-15 lbs. dumb bells

-schedule of the workouts

-one elastic band

-diet book (still need to get it but I will)

-somewhat generic whey protein (is this all I need? What should I mix it with in a smoothie because I know they want you to have a "recovery drink" when you're finished working out...or are the recipes in the diet book? And do I need any supplements/vitamins other than the whey for the smoothie?)

 

[NYR]

Thanks, man!

So do I have everything I need to start?:

-DVDs

-yoga blocks (I decided I'm going to buy these tomorrow)

-pull-up bar (it doesn't double for push-ups...should I get those so I don't hurt my hands or wrists?)

-15 lbs. dumb bells

-schedule of the workouts

-one elastic band

-diet book (still need to get it but I will)

-somewhat generic whey protein (is this all I need? What should I mix it with in a smoothie because I know they want you to have a "recovery drink" when you're finished working out...or are the recipes in the diet book? And do I need any supplements/vitamins other than the whey for the smoothie?)

Yep, you are set. Push up bars are personal. If you have wrist issues, go get some. You can always use your dumbbells too, tony show you how in the videos.

Mix in what you want for a recovery drink, and yes, it's a MUST after a workout. I go with ice, skim milk, and some yogurt, but it's personal. There are receipts online, natural peanut butter is also a good idea.

Whey protein is just like any food - it is a personal choice in terms of flavor and brand. Experiment. Don't buy a big tub until you are happy with one. You'll need to experiment for some time before you reach something you love.

I'd do the yoga program before you invest in blocks - decide if you need them.

Also print out the p90x workout sheets. It's important to track your progress, so essential.

http://www.beachbody.com/category/p90x-online/worksheets.do

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

Finished my first week of a second go round with P90X today. My first round was a huge success. I lost about 2 inches of fat around my waist and was the most fit I had been in 3 years, a feat I attribute to not just P90X but also the paleo diet. I could feel my muscles flex when I changed positions in my sleep, and I could see my six pack forming and gradually revealing itself without my having to flex. It was an amazing transformation for me to witness, and I vowed to maintain and go even further with my fitness.

But then I was hit with a bad case of tendinitis in the knee which really messed with my state of mind and I went into a deep depression. The condition made it impossible for me to even walk up and down the stairs, and it flairs up every now and again when I perform only moderate activity. It reminded me that I was getting older (although I think my running form was more to blame). That misfortune combined with a busy schedule at work led me back into the enticing arms of mother sugar and father carbs. All my progress was lost in a span of a year and I didn't care, I was enjoying browsing the net at midnight while eating Entenmanns' donuts, having Popeyes Chicken and KFC multiple times a week without any guilt, and going for Snickers Blizzard runs at my local Dairy Queen at even the slightest hankering for sugar. I gained 30 pounds during this dark time but did not give a fuck. Hey, I was sleeping better, probably first signs of type 2 diabetes, and my arm was so flabby that it acted as a nice pillow when I moved to a fetal position. Muscles just got in the way!

A few weeks ago I noticed that none of my jeans fit anymore. Somehow over a course of a few days, very snug jeans became unbearably painful to wear. When I sat at my desk, I needed to unbutton them just to concentrate on work. These were my "fat" jeans too, the ones that I was planning to get rid of when I was in shape (I had gone from a 32 to a 30 during those 90 days). Now, I would need to get a few pairs of 33's! It dawned on me. I would have to buy a whole new fucking wardrobe only to facilitate my expanding girth. Not for fashion, not to look better. Because I didn't look better.

During Chrismas weekend I asked my mom to cook my favorite foods and I gorged. Pho, lemon grass pork chops with rice, my moms pork rib carrot and potato soup. All carb heavy but miles healthier than the hot dogs and burgers I was scarfing down at Dairy Queen. Then I came back home and started P90X along with following a paleo-like diet once more. It's only been a week but I feel loads better. My goal is to get into P90X shape, then start taking some muay thai or boxing to take things in a new and interesting direction for my fitness.

edit: atrocious spelling.

 

[Ydahs]

Finally up to my final recovery week

I've actually gained a pound during phase three, but I can see a lot more definition all around. Seems that I've gaining a bit of muscle in this final phase but some of it is probably fat, as I've been doing lots of programming/gaming over the summer break.

Gonna really push myself in this final week to try and lose that pound. Weather should help, 40C (104F) today!

 

[freenudemacusers]

will start this tomorrow. i work out regularly and am in decent to goodish condition but i need a kick in the asshole. especially since i a) have a kid and b) I ate about 4 dozen cookies this week.

 

[Nightz]

I'd be willing to buy the dvd's off you if the price is right

I'm offering them to my brother, but if he doesn't want them I'll hit you up.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

I live on the second floor of my apartment building. Anyone have any suggestions on how to do Plyo without pissing off the person who lives below me? I've thought about taking my laptop out and doing it in the parking lot without shame.

 

[OG Kush]

I live on the second floor of my apartment building. Anyone have any suggestions on how to do Plyo without pissing off the person who lives below me? I've thought about taking my laptop out and doing it in the parking lot without shame.

might as well. I see plenty of people working our in the park.

 

[Detox]

I can do the other ab stuff but when I try Fifer scissors it is like my stomach tightens up and my throat shrinks making it difficult to breathe. The longest I can hold it for is 8-10 reps then I have to stop take a breather and then carry on.

 

[Everdred]

My fiance and I are starting this Thursday. I'm looking to gain muscle weight (currently 135lb) and she is looking to lose about 50lbs. I'm more doing it for moral support for her. What do you guys recommend we change about the diet plan for her to lose weight doing it? Anything?

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

I can do the other ab stuff but when I try Fifer scissors it is like my stomach tightens up and my throat shrinks making it difficult to breathe. The longest I can hold it for is 8-10 reps then I have to stop take a breather and then carry on.

do it in a faster pace

 

[Dabookerman]

I really want to do this, and I'm more than willing to put the effort into following an "affordable" dietry guide. The Protein bars are £20 for just 12!
Not to say they aren't worth it, but it's a bit too much for me.

What suitable recovery drinks would you guys recommend? I hear Chocolate milk being thrown about.
At present i'm on a low carb diet so I want to concentrate on cardio + working on my blasted chest area. Not too concerned about building muscles just yet.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[mm04]

My fiance and I are starting this Thursday. I'm looking to gain muscle weight (currently 135lb) and she is looking to lose about 50lbs. I'm more doing it for moral support for her. What do you guys recommend we change about the diet plan for her to lose weight doing it? Anything?

I really wouldn't change the diet plan for her, but for moral support, you should eat everything she does. Just make sure you calculate both of your BMRs and find out which caloric intake band you belong to. You're probably going to need to eat more than you're used to. My friend and his wife both dropped 25+ lbs in 90 days and both of them are around mid-forties in age. It's highly unlikely she's going to lose all 50 in 90 days. That would probably be unhealthy as well. Make sure that you download an application or sign up at a website like Livestrong.com where you can track meals and daily calorie intake. It's stunning to find out how many calories you eat per day when you have a visual reference.

P90X really shouldn't be used as a one time magic bullet to get you in shape and to go back to living prior to the undertaking. Even after the first 90 days are over, you need to continue some of the workouts and eat right (not less) for maintenance at the very least.

On January 1st of 2011, I was 5'10" 189lbs. Today, I'm 5'10" 165. I'm starting week 16 of P90X today. I lost the first 10 pounds of my journey by cutting my caloric intake to 1600 per day and doing 20 minutes of Eliptical work 5 times a week. That took about 3 months and I was miserable eating so little, but I looked thinner. The last 14 pounds I lost doing P90X while consuming 2200 calories a day and now I look fit. Bicep, chest and ab definition and feeling generally happier and healthier and not hungry all the time. I still have more fat to cut and hopefully I'll reach it by the end of round 2. But this is a commitment and requires dedication.

If you and your fiance follow through for 90 days, you're both going to see noticeable results. Just make sure she doesn't give up after the first 10 days. Those are the hardest and where you'll feel the most soreness. Make it past that and you should make 90 days. My advice is pace yourselves on each exercise, use the pause button when necessary and modify the moves when needed. Good luck!

 

[Pyrokai]

Yep, you are set. Push up bars are personal. If you have wrist issues, go get some. You can always use your dumbbells too, tony show you how in the videos.

Mix in what you want for a recovery drink, and yes, it's a MUST after a workout. I go with ice, skim milk, and some yogurt, but it's personal. There are receipts online, natural peanut butter is also a good idea.

Whey protein is just like any food - it is a personal choice in terms of flavor and brand. Experiment. Don't buy a big tub until you are happy with one. You'll need to experiment for some time before you reach something you love.

I'd do the yoga program before you invest in blocks - decide if you need them.

Also print out the p90x workout sheets. It's important to track your progress, so essential.

http://www.beachbody.com/category/p90x-online/worksheets.do

Thanks again! Those worksheets are very helpful!

 

[Pyrokai]

Wait....is the recovery drink supposed to be something WITHOUT the whey protein? I thought the whey mixed in with milk or peanut butter or something WAS the recovery drink...are these two different things?

 

[mm04]

I drink a Muscle Milk light chocolate shake after workouts. 150 calories, 20 grams of protein. Does the trick for me.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So anyone doing 2 yet? Impressions? Mine should be in tomorrow and I'll start next week.

 

[Ill Saint]

So anyone doing 2 yet? Impressions? Mine should be in tomorrow and I'll start next week.

I did X2 Core yesterday (I mentioned it a bunch of posts earlier). Loved it. Doing Plyocide in a few hours, and can't wait. Still setting up my stability ball, so had to improvise with a light weight. No medicine balls either, as they're goddamn expensive. Thankfully you can improvise if you don't have all the new gear.

 

[NYR]

Wait....is the recovery drink supposed to be something WITHOUT the whey protein? I thought the whey mixed in with milk or peanut butter or something WAS the recovery drink...are these two different things?

Nah, that's marketing hype to sell "recovery" powder. Protein/whey shake after every workout, it's all you need. Your body needs protein after the workout, it what builds muscle.

 

[Everdred]

I really wouldn't change the diet plan for her, but for moral support, you should eat everything she does. Just make sure you calculate both of your BMRs and find out which caloric intake band you belong to. You're probably going to need to eat more than you're used to. My friend and his wife both dropped 25+ lbs in 90 days and both of them are around mid-forties in age. It's highly unlikely she's going to lose all 50 in 90 days. That would probably be unhealthy as well. Make sure that you download an application or sign up at a website like Livestrong.com where you can track meals and daily calorie intake. It's stunning to find out how many calories you eat per day when you have a visual reference.

P90X really shouldn't be used as a one time magic bullet to get you in shape and to go back to living prior to the undertaking. Even after the first 90 days are over, you need to continue some of the workouts and eat right (not less) for maintenance at the very least.

On January 1st of 2011, I was 5'10" 189lbs. Today, I'm 5'10" 165. I'm starting week 16 of P90X today. I lost the first 10 pounds of my journey by cutting my caloric intake to 1600 per day and doing 20 minutes of Eliptical work 5 times a week. That took about 3 months and I was miserable eating so little, but I looked thinner. The last 14 pounds I lost doing P90X while consuming 2200 calories a day and now I look fit. Bicep, chest and ab definition and feeling generally happier and healthier and not hungry all the time. I still have more fat to cut and hopefully I'll reach it by the end of round 2. But this is a commitment and requires dedication.

If you and your fiance follow through for 90 days, you're both going to see noticeable results. Just make sure she doesn't give up after the first 10 days. Those are the hardest and where you'll feel the most soreness. Make it past that and you should make 90 days. My advice is pace yourselves on each exercise, use the pause button when necessary and modify the moves when needed. Good luck!

The only thing we had modified so far was we were going to cut one of the snacks for the day. Otherwise, we weren't sure what to do. I definitely agree with you that this shouldn't be taken as a one time quick fix. I hope that this will just motivate her to be healthier overall and hope she can lose the weight she wants over the next 6-12 months. Definitely going to look into the livestrong website. Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to starting!

EDIT: Did you guys actually buy sword fish for the meal plan?

 

[FOOTE]

Did plyox for the first time in a long time. Its so unbelievably grueling the first time, I had forgotten how hard it was when you first start the program.

 

[Syph]

It has probably been answered already but with all these pages..

I have a question; is p90x also good if you wanna gain weight and muscle?

Back when I started working out I used to weigh 64 kg (ectomorph).. After a year or two of heavy training my bodyweight was 85 kg but then I started losing interest in going to the gym so I lost around 6 kg again. Now I wanna get back into shape and get ripped as fuck so im considering using p90x but most people seem to use it to cut weight..

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

I've noticed this second round of P90X wasn't as bad as the first time I did it. It's probably due to muscle remnants I developed during my first round that had yet to completely atrophy during 2011 aka "my year of gluttony." However there were a few modifications I needed to make to compensate for my terrible cardio and problematic knees. The last thing I would want to happen is re-aggravating these injuries which would derail my entire effort.

1. Half session of plyo twice a week:

By the time I get to the 35 minute mark, things start to get dicey. Despite wearing knee braces on both knees, they begin to feel wobbly and unsure as more fatigue sets in. That's when I call it a day. I don't want to struggle for one last jump squat if it jeopardizes my form. Good, clean technique is one of my few defenses against injury. I then do another half session in place of kempo because I favor the cardio benefits of jump squats over kicking. Before I would do plyo on the bare garage floor. Now I jump up and down on an old exercise mat to cushion the impact. To top off these workouts are two ice packs on the knees post workout for 1 hour.

2. OK, Half sessions of everything.

At this time my stamina is atrocious and I'm really in no mood to "push it to the limit" to the point of nausea. I did that the first time. Granted I saw great results but I burned out too. I figure I'll get there gradually with each workout. Do more reps, add more pounds, include one more exercise routine into the session before stopping. My focus will be more on enjoying my workout rather than KILLING IT!!

I just finished X Stretch, followed by 45 minutes of shadow boxing. You'd be surprised at how much your heart rate gets going by just punching and kicking air.

 

[Mollymauk]

I'm in week 5 and I'm loving it. It's a massive time commitment but well worth it. Really starting to see improvements now. Motivated to see things through to completion.

 

[Ill Saint]

Just finished P90X2 Plyocide. It's a short workout, but very dynamic and high intensity. It's a lot of fun as well, thanks to the quick pace and variety of moves. One thing I'm also really liking so far are the new warm-up and cool-down routines. The foam roller stuff in particular is really effective.

 

[Pyrokai]

Guys, this diet book for P90x is daunting. I think I need to dedicate a day before I start to figure this shit out and go to the grocery store.

Or better yet, does anyone have a way to summarize phase 1 for me in laymen's terms? I suck at cooking so following this is going to be very difficult. Is it basically saying "don't eat carbs but eat a lot of other stuff with protein and avoid sodium" ?

Also, any easy way to figure out my body fat percentage (not BMI)? I found a calculator online that basically only needed my waste size and weight...is that accurate enough? I don't want to buy their special measuring contraption thingy.

I'm in week 5 and I'm loving it. It's a massive time commitment but well worth it. Really starting to see improvements now. Motivated to see things through to completion.

Nice, man! May I ask how you ate for the first 4 weeks? How closely did you follow the official diet plan?

 

[NYR]

Guys, this diet book for P90x is daunting. I think I need to dedicate a day before I start to figure this shit out and go to the grocery store.

Or better yet, does anyone have a way to summarize phase 1 for me in laymen's terms? I suck at cooking so following this is going to be very difficult. Is it basically saying "don't eat carbs but eat a lot of other stuff with protein and avoid sodium" ?

Also, any easy way to figure out my body fat percentage (not BMI)? I found a calculator online that basically only needed my waste size and weight...is that accurate enough? I don't want to buy their special measuring contraption thingy.

BMi calc should be fine.




Nice, man! May I ask how you ate for the first 4 weeks? How closely did you follow the official diet plan?

Your diet in phase one should be made of:

50% protein

30% carbs

20% fat

Use the grams count on the back of food labels to calulate the totals. There are apps that can help you keep track. I use loseit on iPhone to help out. This is how I followed the diet, lost 30 pounds, didn't follow the diet plan exactly, just based on the above philosophy.

The diet book is overrated if you don't cook. Just use the numbers guide to what to eat.

 

[Pyrokai]

Have I told you how much of a help you are? Because you are.

So basically, I'll just try to follow your outline and use the diet plan book as a suggestion and idea guide for meals

 

[NYR]

Have I told you how much of a help you are? Because you are.

So basically, I'll just try to follow your outline and use the diet plan book as a suggestion and idea guide for meals

lol, no prob.

Yep, and then for phase 2 you change up the ratios.

40 protein

40 carbs

20 fat

Phase 3 is carb heavy for energy, I can't remember the exact numbers you'll need to google it, but I think they are 20 pro, 60 carb, 20 fat.