I'm sure quite a few of the fitness oriented folks around here have at least *heard* of P90X, a Tony Robinsesque "EXXXXTRREEEEMMEE" series of videos. The theory isn't novel: work your ass off and eat better for 90 days and you'll look and feel better when your done.
After sliding downhill for essentially the entirety of 2009, my friend RobD and I are taking the plunge. If anyone feels like joining us, post your pain here.
It's not exactly cheap, but you CAN find the DVDs for about $50 bucks on sale, and the equipment required is quite minimal (a pullup bar and either dumbells or a set of resistance bands).
I'm day 1, and it kicked my ass, but in a good way. The dude is way less annoying than the infomercial stuff you'll see on the web, I actually kind of like him, and not just because he's a bit older and self deprecating.
Nutritionwise, I'm not following the fairly dirt-standard workout diet, rather just falling back on common sense and using livestrong.com's free food counter and 3 dollar iphone app to keep better track of what I'm eating.
I only post this here because I got a lot of twitter DMs when I posted I was starting, so perhaps I can drag some of you out of the woodwork.
A lot of guys at my Kung Fu school are using it. It's pretty popular among physical trainers here, too. It's hardcore and it works.
Rock on Rabbit! Hadn't thought about getting back in shape for a while, but now might be the time. Thanks for posting this.
My brother was|is doing P90x and was|is getting great results. He hasn't mentioned it lately though and has been clocking in a lot of game time so I don't know if he lost motivation. I personally stick with a mix of kettlebells, freeweights, HIIT, and running. This is my first winter here (out of three) that I'm continuing to make gains and my goal is to keep up momentum rather than bunkering down in front of the fireplace with scotch and not doing anything other than snowboarding. I'm thinking about picking up a nice heavybag as a late Christmas present to myself.
Keep us posted, particularly about time commitment. The biggest thing preventing me from even considering it is that I really don't want to spend an hour and a half a night working out. (These games don't play themselves, dammit!)
I loved doing it but by the end of the three months it got very repetitive and boring. I found that I hated the Yoga and always skipped it. I also never followed the diet guide because it just seemed so convoluted and the food looked terrible. I also found it hard to spend 40 minutes stretching. It felt like a waste of time to me.
I used it mainly because I was in between gyms and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. If I had more free weights in my house I think I would have gotten more out of it. Overall though it also kicked my ass. Especially those different types of push ups!
Its been a year since I was on it but I still do Ab Ripper X three times a week. That is the best Ab exercise program out there bar none.
Keep us posted, particularly about time commitment. The biggest thing preventing me from even considering it is that I really don't want to spend an hour and a half a night working out. (These games don't play themselves, dammit!)
Yeah, when rabbit was telling me about it, this was a big "woah, not sure I really want it THAT bad" moment. I'm married, in good health and am not limited in doing the things I want to do. I'm not sure 70 to 90 minutes a day is something I'd have the drive for in the long run.
I'm lucky, in that a lot of it has been worked into our KF school workouts. So I get the trickledown!
I don't know anything about P90X beyond the infomercials. But I will say this, regarding the time commitment: If you're thinking about the time put in in terms of the results that you get, it's never going to be worth it. If you're weighing the time required (say, 45 minutes) versus some tangible result (say, ever-so-slightly less flag on your ribs), then eventually, it will be easy to talk yourself out of it. Doing the exercise program for its own sake (whether that be running, weights, hitting the bag, or hitting another person) is the only mindset that will keep you coming back day after day, months from now.
My two cents.
If you're weighing the time required (say, 45 minutes) versus some tangible result (say, ever-so-slightly less flag on your ribs), then eventually, it will be easy to talk yourself out of it. Doing the exercise program for its own sake (whether that be running, weights, hitting the bag, or hitting another person) is the only mindset that will keep you coming back day after day, months from now.
For me I sleep better and sleep less, plus feel more energetic and thusly more productive through the day. So working out effectively makes time for itself. I guess I'm an endorphin addict too because if I don't work out my mood really suffers.
Yeah, I currently do three days a week, 45 minutes a session mostly to keep my energy up. I could care less about popping my quads or whatever it is they pitch, but learning some new exercises would definitely be a good thing.
I've seen the Triceps/shoulders/chest DVD with a friend, and it should definitely work, however in my opinion there's a lot of wasteful exercises, but just the fact that it pushes you to almost failure will ensure muscle growth (if not optimal). Also the ab workout seems kind of excessive.
An hour and a half of exercise daily is ridiculous unless you need to be in top shape for something. Regularly I do 20-30 minutes of weights and bike 25 mins on the off days, and I'm fine.
P90X will obviously work if you stay with it, yet I think it is too "hardcore" for the sake of being hardcore, not for achieving a better body with less work.
Also I can't stand the trainer guy. =P
Here's a place that has the DVD set for 50$, but I'm still not sure I want to pay that much if I don't get into it. Does anyone want to go in? I can neither confirm nor deny that I can make copies.
Just make sure you take your vitamins and eat right and rest so you don't get sick, if you don't have a gym it's a great choice of workout so good luck!
Doing the exercise program for its own sake (whether that be running, weights, hitting the bag, or hitting another person) is the only mindset that will keep you coming back day after day, months from now.
Them's golden words. I've never had a particularly good exercise regimen mindset. Until I decided to run my marathon and paid the entry fee. Then I had a tangible goal that, if I didn't continue to work toward it, I would fail miserably. So I continued to work. Now that I finished that first one I scheduled another one in March to work toward to keep a tangible goal in sight. That seems to be my best method.
This is one of those things that seems to have come out of nowhere to being all over my radar. Lots of folks at work are going through it, and then twitter pals, and now some of you guys. All within about a week. I've never attempted any kind of workout schedule, but I'm tempted to give it a shot out of fear that everyone on the planet will soon be able to kick my ass.
I've been on a eating-well kick for about 2 years now since I quit drinking. And, weight-wise, I'm right were I want to be. But, I've got a real lack of energy and have become really really inactive. I think i would feel 100x (90x?) better if I got some exercise in.
With winter arriving, I'm really curious. Especially since the cash outlay is almost nil - can get the discs from a bud at work, and the bands are like $40 for a basic set.
My only concern is noise - I live in a 120 year old building, and my landlord lives on the floor below. Is there much bouncing around, or is it mostly isometric? I checked out the back and chest disc, it looks like I could do most of it without making much noise.
edit: Also - for those wondering, the results seem to be there if you can stick with it. My coworker lost 30 lbs, looks and (says he) feels great. He's starting his second round of it now.
Day 3: arms and shoulders. Every muscle in my body hurts, but in a good way. Walking down stairs is comical -- it makes my pecs and abs hurt!
It's kind of awesome, isn't it? =)
My wife and I did "The X" for a few weeks and it tore us up. It was rather humiliating having the guy from Super Troopers, who apparently only has one leg, kicking your ass at plyometrics. It's a great workout and definitely a cut above your regular gym workout. I wouldn't try 90x unless you're already fit and looking for a way to push yourself further.
We loaned the set to my uncle so he and his girlfriend could try it and it got "lost."
Wasn't the P90X a gun from the original Deus Ex?
I need a bigger house. My hands keep hitting the fan and ceiling while doing the P90X warm ups.
edit: What is everyone doing for equipment? The stuff on their site is pretty expensive. $400 for those weights and $90 for a mat is a bit out of my price range.
We went to Academy and bought 4 sets of hand weights for ~$50 and I think we paid $20 a piece for yoga mats there as well. Not free, but still under $100.
Did you take "before" pictures?
There are places you can get this on the interwebs
I dropped about 30 kgs in 3 months using just the information I got in a health seminar, for me knowing the science behind foods and how everything interacts was enough to get me to change my eating habits, and since it's a change of eating habits and not a diet it's sustainable, Once i'd begun losing the weight feeling better made me feel like exercising and I started running( for the first time in my life) and I've been spending a lot of time swimming in the ocean. I'd suggest people that want to improve their diet research Glucogon and insulin and understand how the two interact in your body.
Funny how Rabbit and I are on opposite ends of things. The upper body lifting is making me just a hint sore but nothing big but the pylo and yoga made me cry as I have no quad strength and my feet and calves like to cramp up on what seem to be minor routines. Today Tony kept talking about "breathing" during the yoga day. All I could think was "Is it OK to breathe like I've just been stabbed, because that's what I'm doing..."
4 down. 86 to go.
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