I'm starting P90X...hold me...

[HMARK Center]

I'm staring at a stack of DVD's, a fitness guide, a nutrition guide, and a new pull up bar and resistance band, and I'm already intimidated.

Oh well, I paid for this for a reason. Anybody else trying this or considering looking into it? My chief concern is that I've done a TON of cardio exercising for months now, and switching to a more strength-building centric program will be a departure for me (though I know it also emphasizes cardio plenty), and I'll have to make sure I really follow the nutrition guide. I'm not too afraid of that, I'm just concerned about making sure I buy/prepare/etc. the right amount of different types of food.

Oh, and I am so not taking pictures of myself. No, I'm not uncomfortable with my body, but no, I'm just not doing it.

[Gus Richlen Was Wrong]

my dad is doing this. he's got his DVDs on loan from the county where he works.

[Deleted]

My brother's doing this. The first night after he tried it...yikes, not a pretty story, haha.

[Red Impact]

I've done it. It's a hard workout, but I don't put that much stock in the "muscle confusion" thing. If you keep working working at it, you'll see the results, if for no other reason than it's an intense 60 - 90 minute workout a day with a strict nutrition guidelines, and anyone would see results with that. That's why it works.

Good luck, it's a hard workout, but if you can manage it you'll be successful on it.

[Lord Rahl]

Mar 30, 2011 21:10:03 GMT -5 Red Impact said:

I've done it. It's a hard workout, but I don't put that much stock in the "muscle confusion" thing. If you keep working working at it, you'll see the results, if for no other reason than it's an intense 60 - 90 minute workout a day with a strict nutrition guidelines, and anyone would see results with that. That's why it works.

Good luck, it's a hard workout, but if you can manage it you'll be successful on it.

Eh, I kinda buy the muscle confusion. If you lift long enough, you're gonna hit a plateau. I honestly think it'd take longer than 30 days to hit the plateau, but they are there.

I started doing it a few months ago, but my work schedule is so screwy I couldnt keep steady at it. Hoping to restart here soon. The month or so I did it, I definitely saw results and I really didnt even follow (or read for that matter ) the nutrition guide.

[HMARK Center]

Mar 30, 2011 21:10:03 GMT -5 Red Impact said:

I've done it. It's a hard workout, but I don't put that much stock in the "muscle confusion" thing. If you keep working working at it, you'll see the results, if for no other reason than it's an intense 60 - 90 minute workout a day with a strict nutrition guidelines, and anyone would see results with that. That's why it works.

Good luck, it's a hard workout, but if you can manage it you'll be successful on it.

Yeah, I know what you mean: simply being hardline dedicated to a program and eating well will show results, so it's not a magic solution or anything.

That said, it's something that's probably a good idea for me: I work out a lot, but I kind of go all over the board, so following a stricter regiment is something that will probably help me focus and get results more quickly.

Plus, while I'm good about going to the gym, I enjoy the idea of working out at home. I know that leads some people to slacking off, but I've done it before, so I'm glad to be doing it.

[Red Impact]

Mar 30, 2011 21:24:27 GMT -5 Lord Rahl said:

Eh, I kinda buy the muscle confusion. If you lift long enough, you're gonna hit a plateau. I honestly think it'd take longer than 30 days to hit the plateau, but they are there.

I started doing it a few months ago, but my work schedule is so screwy I couldnt keep steady at it. Hoping to restart here soon. The month or so I did it, I definitely saw results and I really didnt even follow (or read for that matter ) the nutrition guide.

Well yeah, your body does adapt and eventually plateau, but it actually only adapts to a particular weight or load and reps. If you do arm curls for 10 reps with 40 pounds all the time, your body will adapt and you'll stop seeing results. But there actually is a really simple way bodybuilders and power lifters get around this, and that's just up the weight or change the reps (or both). Move down to 35 and do 20 reps instead or increase the weight and you will start to see results again. The way P90X does it is just making a slight change on the days you workout specific groups and slight changes to the workout routine. The leg workout actually doesn't change at all, but that will still benefit you if you gradually increase the weight or do more reps like they tell you to.

Muscle confusion is a fancy way of saying "vary the exercises slightly." One of the guys behind P90X said the marketing team came up with the term. The program will work, but muscle confusion is a way to differentiate it from all the other workout vids and programs on the market, rather than some revolutionary way to workout. You'll get results on it if you do it, but you don't even need all the other videos if you keep increasing the weight/resistance and reps you lift.

I do like the yoga workout, that's a nice touch and I think yoga is really underrated as a workout tool. The hardest workout I ever did heavily mixed yoga with weightlifting and I couldn't move for a half-hour after it.

[emoney3265]

Good luck to ya bro. I want to start that here really soon too. My only problem is finding a place to actually do it.

[Krimzon]

I'll remember you fondly.

[Kevin Hamilton]

As ya know, I've been doing it about three weeks ( I was sick one week, or it'd be a full month). I can tell/see it's working.. but yeah I'll agree it'd be the same for any intensive workout that you stick to regularly.

I've only got the dvds ( got it off eBay on the cheap), and don't have the whole nutrition deal, so I'm not being nearly as stringent with what I eat, though I have cut down on portions and things like that; and am back on mostly water.. only have soda maybe once or twice a week now, if that.. and that's helped as well.

It's a tough workout, and don't expect to keep up with them the first few times out.. hell I'm still not there yet; though I can tell I improve each time. I actually find the resistance training stuff easier than the cardio for the most part, though I'm improving there. Also thankfully you've got yoga and stretching in the middle of the twelve workouts that kinda give ya 'days off'.

As I told ya before, fear plyometrics. Fear it. I've done it twice now and I still suck at it. Though I am getting a bit better. Of the cardio workouts, Kenpo is really fun.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

They mentioned this in a recent cracked article

One of the hottest and trendiest fitness fads now is P90X, a 90-day program with a hook that its varied exercises will "confuse your muscles" and stop them from becoming complacent and allowing your fitness level to plateau.

Does it work? Of course it works. If you're working out strenuously for 60 to 90 minutes every day for 90 days straight while sticking to a strict diet, of course you are going to get more fit. How could you not?

But the same can be said for countless other fitness plans. The "muscle confusion" bit that supposedly makes P90X unique is just a marketing phrase -- one that's absolutely necessary to the whole business model as it explains why, in this world of hundreds of fitness programs, you need their exact program and not someone else's. It's like Chevron reminding you that they have "Techron" in their gasoline, except I think Techron actually does something.

But no, muscles are not people, and they don't get bored. If you're squatting 40 pounds (yes that's me, I'm a weakling) for three sets of 15 reps every single time, then sure, they'll become accustomed to that exact exercise and you'll stop seeing gains after a while. But all you have to do to fix that is lift more weight or change the number of reps or sets, as seen in every single workout program ever. To your muscles, that's new and exciting enough. You don't have to do an entirely different new kind of squat to entertain/shock your jaded muscles. They're muscles, not the Internet.

And make no mistake: If you have the time, energy and motivation for P90X, you can get ripped on any plan. You're talking about workouts that are 60 to 90 minutes, every day, not counting the time you'd put into setting up, getting dressed, putting things away, as well as accounting for some rest time afterward where you won't be too productive, considering how strenuous the workouts are. If you want to stick to the meal plan, you'd have to put time into preparing the food, which could cost up to $400 of groceries a week, according to some who've tried it.


In other words, the magic of P90X isn't "muscle confusion" or any other revolutionary discovery in how your body works. It's that it's specifically for people who are willing to put huge chunks of their life and cash aside to devote to nothing but getting fit. If you are one of those people, you've pretty much already got it made.

Read more: www.cracked.com/article_19130_6-fitness-tips-everyones-heard-that-dont-work-at-all_p2.html#ixzz1IBVHVDU9

[potpie]

Mar 31, 2011 1:41:42 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

As I told ya before, fear plyometrics. Fear it.

Oh yes. I do fear it. I would rather do all the lifting programs 4 times a day than do the one plyo workout a week.

[Red Impact]

Apr 1, 2011 17:02:43 GMT -5 @potpie said:

Mar 31, 2011 1:41:42 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

As I told ya before, fear plyometrics. Fear it.

Oh yes. I do fear it. I would rather do all the lifting programs 4 times a day than do the one plyo workout a week.

The Plyo is such a beastly workout. Easily the worst workout of the entire program.

[HMARK Center]

Did Plyometrics today, Day #2.

It was exhausting, absolutely, but I've been so used to cardio in the past six months that I think I actually handled it better than my chest/back work on day one. That said, I definitely abused the pause button for ten second bursts a couple of times, I was absolutely spent by the end.

[HMARK Center]

Lil' update: three days into this thing, a bunch of my muscles were absolutely aching, sore right thigh, left calf, shoulders, etc.

Then I did the yoga program, sweat like a beast, couldn't do every single move...but I felt a MILLION times better after. The soreness is nearly all gone.

Did Legs/Back and Ab Ripper today, actually looking forward to Kenpo tomorrow.

[Dave at the Movies]

I have my concerns about all these intense workout DVDs coming out now. I'm not saying it is a bad thing but they are starting to find that people have serious heart problems from working out too much now even if they eat very healthy.

You can go for it but I prefer working out more in moderation.

[HMARK Center]

Eh, that's not really a problem if you actually follow the directions given in the program.

For one, programs like these usually want you to pass a "minimal fitness test" to start them, and this one in particular suggests wearing a heart rate monitor on your wrist, and makes a big point of saying to push your limits, but not to keep going if your muscles or heart are out of whack. They say repeatedly "press the pause button if you need a few seconds" or "set a goal, if you didn't reach it yet don't try to be a hero", etc. etc. etc.

Basically, if you use your head and don't let your ego get in the way, you'll most likely be fine. I do bet there's tons of people out there who push themselves way past what they're currently capable of and wind up paying for it.

[therealsks]

I did the Insanity full body workout (2 hour edition) during High School for Tennis, my gym teacher/coach was a nut. First day I did it I got home, showered, fell on my bed, and didn't get up for the next 8 hours.