P90X

[Pared]

Alright, a search about this doesn't turn up any concrete info.

Has anyone tried this 3 month workout regimen? Looking to try it.. I've read the "diet" you go on and it looks insane.

[CMH]

Re: P90X

I have never tried it but a baseball teammate of mine tried it this summer and while I can't comment on what he went through, it definitely worked for him.

We use to joke about his new bulging belly as he trotted to the outfield back in 2008. But in the summer of 2009, he started the program and about two months in, I noticed the difference. It wasn't until I asked him about it that he told me he'd been on the P90X workout/diet (not sure how that works exactly). He never mentioned it prior to that, but I noticed a considerable difference.

But my understanding is that you're looking to bulk up. He needed to lose the extra weight. So not sure how to comment on what you're looking for in this plan.

[Pared]

Re: P90X

I'm actually looking to get more cut as I'm happy with my weight.

The diet looks insane though. Did he stay on it after the 3 months?

There are different routes within the diet, depending on if you want to lose weight or gain weight or even just stay your same size now.

[stiffarmleft]

Re: P90X

check this thread

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-size-etc.html

I'm in my 3rd month and I'm seeing great results lost about 20 lbs and my muscle definition is much better.

[elgreazy1]

Re: P90X

Of course there will be varying results but my g/f and a co-worker of hers both tried it out with mixed results. The diet is nothing more than a glorified Abs Diet with even more strain on your carb intake, but it serves it's purpose in helping get cut.

My g/f has always been one of those girls who isn't afraid to get in the gym and lift & work hard, so I was really looking forward to see what results she would get on the program. She went on it and while I will say she hasn't lost any weight, she did lose a couple of inches in and around areas on her body. Nothing really dramatic from an appearance perspective but in terms of athletic ability & core- strength she improved drastically. Oddly enough, she could never do push-ups, pull-ups, etc basically she had problems doing exercises that required functional muscles/strength, balance, etc, things athletes strive at but weight lifters aren't great at. By the end of the program she was repping out pushups, clap-pushups, partial pull-ups, etc. Her balance and flexibility got a whole lot better too... this helps in many aspects of her life. All in all, she is very happy with it and to this day does P90X instead of going to the gym. Her shape improved noticeably but nothing that is drastic.

Her co-worker was re-enrolling in the Navy and went on the diet & program. He lost a decent amount of weight, but he did lose a lot of muscle mass with the weight. While his lifting output went way down, his balance & athleticism went back up. So it was a trade off again.

I have started using some of the exercises from the program in my daily workouts and its been a nice mix up. I normally do different types of training regimines: explosion, heavy, HIT, cardio, circuit, etc and I like some of the exercises, especially when trying to push my body to failure. I've seen no physical results other than my muscle fatigue levels have been pushed a little further up, whcih in the end should result in either more growth or strength. In fact, when it starts getting too cold to go running outside I'll probably start a P90X routine myself.

[Pared]

Re: P90X

Thanks stiffarm. There's a slew of stuff in that thread and would like to keep this one strictly on P90X. Perhaps some of the guys on it can keep posting their thoughts/experiences on it here.

I'm thinking of taking the plunge in two weeks but the amount of money for food necessary seems extravagant. Did anyone notice this causing an increase in what they spent for food? Seems like everything must be made from scratch.

elgreazy,

Was your wife's co-worker looking to lose the muscle mass? From all the documentation it looks like it's not something you'd have to sacrifice but if that is the case, I'd probably think twice.

[Knight165]

Re: P90X

One of the guys at work did the regimen.
He got good results....and he did his own take on the diet.
To watch him doing the workout was funny....very weird cycle, with some nutty looking lunges...pullups etc.
We joke with him now as he fell off a ladder, but before he fell...the rungs collapsed...trapping his arms...dislocating both shoulders and then he slammed to the ground tearing the ligaments in both shoulders.
We asked him why he could hold himself up thanks to his wonderful P90X workout?!
One thing....the workout is almost too good at cutting out fat. All the guys look ripped...but have a sunken chest look to me.

M.K.
Knight165

[Trevytrev11]

Re: P90X

Thanks stiffarm. There's a slew of stuff in that thread and would like to keep this one strictly on P90X. Perhaps some of the guys on it can keep posting their thoughts/experiences on it here.

I'm thinking of taking the plunge in two weeks but the amount of money for food necessary seems extravagant. Did anyone notice this causing an increase in what they spent for food? Seems like everything must be made from scratch.

elgreazy,

Was your wife's co-worker looking to lose the muscle mass? From all the documentation it looks like it's not something you'd have to sacrifice but if that is the case, I'd probably think twice.

I just finsihed up on Tuesday. Did the whole 90 days and only missed one yoga workout.

There are two diet plans. The meal plan, which there is a recipe book and like you eluded to, you pretty much make everything from scratch. It tells you exactly what to eat for every meal and snack for every day for the entire program. There is also the portion plan, which from my experience, about 90% of the people use. The portion plan basically tells you how many servings of Protein, Carbs, etc. you need per day. It then gives you a long list of what makes up one serving (ex 3 ounces of lean beef is one serving of protein), you then can use that to tailor the diet to you and your schedule. It will differ depending on whether you workout in the morning, afternoon or evening.

My grocery bill increased a little as I did make it a point to buy some healthier items. I bought a carton of egg whites instead of just buying eggs and making them my self. I switched to a more expensive whole wheat bread and english muffing that what I had been using. The other increases came mostly from protein powder and protein bars, which I purchased at Costco for much cheaper than I would have got a GNC or some other specialty store.

I saved money on not buying junk food. I didn't buy ice cream, chips and other snacks that I typically ate and isntead bought a lot more fruit and veggies.

If you are going to do it, use weights instead of bands. I have a set of adjutable dumbbells that went up to 50 and there is only one or two excersises where I felt I needed more and I just did more reps on those.

You will also need a pullup bar if you don't have one already. This will run $30 - $40 for the one that slips right over your door jam.

[stiffarmleft]

Re: P90X

One thing....the workout is almost too good at cutting out fat. All the guys look ripped...but have a sunken chest look to me.

M.K.
Knight165

I noticed that with my chest, but hopefully as my stomach get more defined my chest will stand out more. I did not follow the diet exactly and bought the same stuff I usually get at the grocery store, but cut out the donuts and chips. I ate more vegetables and fruits and lots of chicken breast, but the associated costs were no different than what we usually spend on groceries. The only additional thing I bought was some GNC whey protein. You definitely need to get enough calories to get through the workout, if not you will burn out halfway through.

[Pared]

Re: P90X

Yeah I have pull-up bar and use it at home. The adjustable dumbbells look to be another investment as well.

Hmm... decisions,decisions. Either do all this and get healthier and look better... or stay where I am and pick up all these great games about to release this fall.

I appreciate all the posts. This entire regimen has me intrigued.

Are you happy you did it? Will you stay on something similar? If you could decide all over again to do it/not do it, would you?

[elgreazy1]

Re: P90X

Thanks stiffarm. There's a slew of stuff in that thread and would like to keep this one strictly on P90X. Perhaps some of the guys on it can keep posting their thoughts/experiences on it here.

I'm thinking of taking the plunge in two weeks but the amount of money for food necessary seems extravagant. Did anyone notice this causing an increase in what they spent for food? Seems like everything must be made from scratch.

I'd say not to worry too much about grocery prices. Healthier food is always more expensive, why do you think America is so fat? Fast food = cheap, quick & easy. Healthy home cooked food = more expensive, time consuming & cooking.

When my g/f and I decided to rededicate ourselves to being healthy again we noticed our grocery bills went up too but the money we spent on restaurants, fast food, etc went dramatically down so in the end it balanced itself out. Most of your money will go to fruits & vegetables which cost a lot and don't stay fresh for long, but it's definitely worth it in the long haul. At this point, we don't even really enjoy dining out anymore because we can make just as good meals at home with half the calories & fat.

If budget is a problem, I'd definitely recommend Sam's or Costco, maybe even going with a friend who has a membership. Tuna fish, fresh meat (to freeze & cook later) & fruits & veggies are also great deals there. Sam's has a great deal on EAS protein, 5 lb bag for $35, you can't beat that! I'm sure Costco or other whole-sale stores have just a good of a deal.

elgreazy,

Was your wife's co-worker looking to lose the muscle mass? From all the documentation it looks like it's not something you'd have to sacrifice but if that is the case, I'd probably think twice.

His goal was to drop weight in order to get back into the Navy. He was pretty big, not overweight, just a meaty kind of guy who didn't look out of shape. He did lose a fairly large amount of muscle mass but he did get more toned, not ripped, but he also did start running & bike riding again (in the Texas heat). I'm sure that attributed more to his mass loss than P90X. I'd probably say you will see negligible losses if you keep your calories & protein intake in check.

[stiffarmleft]

Re: P90X

Yeah I have pull-up bar and use it at home. The adjustable dumbbells look to be another investment as well.

Hmm... decisions,decisions. Either do all this and get healthier and look better... or stay where I am and pick up all these great games about to release this fall.

I appreciate all the posts. This entire regimen has me intrigued.

Are you happy you did it? Will you stay on something similar? If you could decide all over again to do it/not do it, would you?

Best thing I could have ever done for myself, I have high blood pressure so I felt as though I really had no choice but to get in shape. It's tough no doubt, but I would definitely do it all over again, in fact I am, I did the lean regime the first time around, next time I going to do the standard. I still need to lose about 20 more pounds, after that I'll stick to a more normal workout routine and be in maintenance mode. There are certain workouts that I will continue to do after it's all said and done, like core synergistics and ab ripper. The only thing is that I wished I took before and after pictures, but my jeans don't lie.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: P90X

My Experience:

I wanted to keep this seperate from my other post so it didn't get mixed up in the expense side of the program.

You will hate it and love it at the same time. It definitely becomes a mental chore to get yourself motivated to workout 6 days a week for an hour (cardio type workouts) to an hour 15 (strength workouts + ab ripper X) to an hour and a half (yoga). The best part is that in the first phase, you are on a high protein, low carb diet called the "fat shredder" diet and you will shred fat and see some results after your first week or two. I lost 10 of my total 15 pounds in the first three weeks.

Tony Horton, the host, is definitely entertaining. He is annoying at times and you will cuss at him throughout every workout, but he makes everything tollerable and keeps things light and keeps you motivated. You will begin to quote him after only a few weeks.

"Get em Up!!! It's Called Ab Ripper X"
"Aint No Aging, I don't believe in Aging, I got your Aging right here!"

Once you start, you have to stick with it. You have to be dedicated to put in the DVD and press play every day. This is the hardest part. You get home late for work, you want to relax, but you have to do it...at least that's the way I felt. I knew if I missed one, I would miss another and another and then I'd just say screw it.

If you don't know how it works, there are three phases.
Phase 1: 3 weeks. Each week is the same 6 days of workouts with a rest day on the 7th day.
Phase 2: 3 Weeks. Each week is the same 6 days or workouts with a rest day on the 7th day. Lift excersises are different, with the exception of legs and back (you do this every week, except recovery), but the other days, kempp, plyo and yoga are the same.
Phase 3: 4 Weeks. Basically you just alternate between Phase 1 and Phase 2 each week.
**After each phase is a recovery week, which is a bit of a break, but still is pretty intense. It's got core twice, yoga twice, kempo once and an rest day and stretch day.

With the exception of yoga, all of the other workouts pretty much fly by. There is a warm up and a stretch at the beginning of almost all the workouts and once you start the actual workout you move from one excersise to the next. Early on, when you are buidling up strength and figuing things out you will be pressing pause as you figure things out or sitting waiting for them to finish up as you won't be able to keep up with them. After a few weeks, you'll be keeping up with no problem.

I started at about 175 and finished at about 160. My cholesterol is the lowest I think it's ever been. I'm much more defined in all of my muscles than I have been since playing college baseball and I had to go by all new clothes as my waist went from a 33 to about a 30-31.

--Yoga will suck the first time you do it. It's slow and pretty strenuous on your legs if you have never done it before and since it's the first time you'll have done it you will have no idea how long it will suck. The hard part (all of the warrior poses, vinassas, plank to chatarunga, etc.) goes until there is about 43 minutes left. After that, it gets much easier as you go into balance postures and stretching, which is cake. However, with about 15 or 20 minutes left there is something called yoga belly 7, which is a quick, but tough little ab workout hidden in there.

Let me know if you have any questions. I just finished and everything is still pretty fresh in my head. If you want more info on all of the workouts, I can help you out. I have all my worksheets on my computer if you are curious to know what you will be doing.

Good Luck man.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: P90X

Yeah I have pull-up bar and use it at home. The adjustable dumbbells look to be another investment as well.

Hmm... decisions,decisions. Either do all this and get healthier and look better... or stay where I am and pick up all these great games about to release this fall.

I appreciate all the posts. This entire regimen has me intrigued.

Are you happy you did it? Will you stay on something similar? If you could decide all over again to do it/not do it, would you?

I'm in the same boat as stiffarm. I may not do it again at least any time soon as it's too much of a commitment and it took away my nights, every night for three months. But if I could go back, I would do it again in a heartbeat. You will see results if you stick with it and you will see them pretty quickly.

I was in a rut at the gym and was kind of stuck doing the same excersises every week. If anything, this added a ton of variety to my workouts as I plan on incorporating the vast majority of P90X workouts to my daily routine.

My wife did it with me and she would say the same thing. And like stiffarm says, we plan on doing some of the cardio style workouts together at home 2-3 times a week (cardio, core, kempo and a modified ab ripper).

The summer time worked perfect for us most tv shows were out of season for 3 months, so we didn't feel like it was impeeding on our typical method of entertainment.

As you can tell from the length of my posts here, I'm pretty passionate about it.Also, while I didn't do it, if you are looking for motivation, you can go on the P90X website. They have new groups starting every week that you can join and use to keep you motivated. You will be in a group with people starting and going through the same things you are, which I think is pretty cool.

If you need more motivation, check youtube and search "P90X transformation" and "P90X results" and "P90X before and after". Some of the changes are just incredible. After watching those video's I was pumped to go after it.

These two are pretty amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6AUZDAwuPY&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTcZboou0DU

Makes me want to start all over again

[Pared]

Re: P90X

Yeah I've done all the research already... just looking for that little "oomph" to finally push me through. Well, that and time, which I won't have for another 2 weeks.

I sincerely appreciate all the help and wealth of information. I think I'm going to do it.

If I do, I'll be sure to post in this thread and ask questions.