P90x

[Jack7]

Thanks guys. It's good to see there are guys who reject the stereotype of the fat/skinny, out of shape gamer geek.

For me personally, I've never believed in the dichotomy between intelligence and athleticism. To me an intelligent man oughtta make a good athlete cause he should naturally be able to easily master and exploit the mental aspects of physical training, making training more efficient. And a strong and athlete man should, because of the discipline he employs in training his body, be able to apply the same discipline towards improving his mind. To me it's like saying that because a man is a good artist he cannot be good at sports, or because he is a man of the cloth he cannot be a brilliant scientist.

In other words intelligence and strength, and art and science and religion, are not mutually exclusive, but complimentary and mutually exploitable.

I've always thought the Renaissance Man/Rhodes Scholar was a far better objective to shoot for than the idea of being exclusively or merely a Geek or a Jock, or an Artist, or a Scientist. It need not be Either/Or. You can be all of these things, and more, and if not all at the same time (because of time or other limitations), at least all of them at some point in your life, if you only wish and are willing to work to do so.

I had a somewhat strange relationship with the Yoga part of the program as well. As a kid (a teenager) I studied Yoga under a Yogin from Thailand. He taught me Raja Yoga (meditative yoga) and the asanas - or positions - as meditative stances. So I would undertake stances and stand or sit or lie in them for a long time, sometimes an hour or more. In other words I learned Hatha Yoga primarily as a series of static positions to strengthen and discipline the body (unmoving) in order to support meditation. It was just a support system for Raja yoga.

So it was kinda strange to do Yoga in the way P90X required, which was sorta like light speed compared to how I had been trained. If I did the Surya Namaskar in under five minutes, my Yogin would have said, "slow-down boy, it's not a race. It's control of the body and mind." So P90X yoga took some real getting used to, and because of my previous injuries, doing Hatha yoga that fast and in that way, well, it was a hard part of the program for me in that sense. I now like the Yoga part, and see the body flexibility advantages, but it still feels kinda alien to me. And I see BG's point about how hard it is to keep up with.

BG, I thought you also had a good point on one of your blogs about the improvements to posture. That was a good observation.

 

[jcayer]

Whatever your feelings are about the yoga workout, P90x is a great program.

The combination of strength, cardio, and stretch make it very well rounded and maintainable...after having just finished Insanity...not maintainable, too hard on the body.

I encourage anyone interested in getting fit to try it, even without the diet, you'll likely be in much better shape than you've ever been before.

 

[Umbran]

But the repetitiveness, the not being able to see the TV instruction half the time, and the 1.5 hours of it all just worked to kill the whole "relaxation" mood yoga seems to be built on.

My wife isn't doing the whole P90X thing, but is trying some of the workouts...

As for repetitiveness - that seems common throughout the whole P90x series. She did the yoga workout this morning, and what she described sounds like doing maybe a dozen sun salutation - that's pretty normal yoga.

And having the thing move you around so you don't keep the same facing throughout is fairly common in yoga as well - vinyasa concentrates on flow from position to position, and that may mean you don't always get to face a particular direction that you want for every single position.

I'm thinking of trying the yoga workout myself, and I'll see if I agree with her.

 

[Evilusion]

Yea as far as the yoga being repetitive that just killed it for me. Yes I know it will help with flexability, but damn I agree with Bullgrit to much repetition.

Going to start round 2 today. More than likely will sub either core or cardio for the yoga. I really need to considrate on those areas more right now.

As far as the diet part goes. I have mostly skipped it. I used it as a guide to what I should be eating. That has helped a lot.

Evilusion

 

[jcayer]

I started round 3 today. Follow along at Josh's Fitness Blog

I'm using google docs to keep all my stats, so you'll be able to follow along if you're interested. My brother and I do this and work against each other. We made huge gains knowing what the other did...and having to top it.

 

[Bullgrit]

You guys who are going through another round(s): Are you looking for mass or lean or just fit? Are you trying to build big muscles, trying to lean down the fat, or just to get really, really fit?

Bullgrit

 

[jcayer]

That's an interesting question. Yes, I would like to lean down some. I'm built like an ox, but at 6-3 and 250 lbs, the six pack is still stashed in the fridge.

That being said, I've always been fairly athletic. I was heavy into the gym for years, even teaching classes for a couple years. Then married, settled down, kids, etc. No time for the gym...as it is, I workout at 4:45 or 5:00am.

For me, P90x is more about just making sure I get a good workout in everyday...or just about everyday. Tony says age is just a number, and now that I'm 37, I'm starting to see that. Some people my age I know have slowed down, or are starting to. They're using the I'm getting to old to do that excuse. I see no reason for that and P90x helps me to prevent it from happening.

Finally, I'm starting to understand and respect the third leg of fitness...stretching. I've never been limber, but for the first time in memory, I can touch my toes. I know you guys hate yoga, but as I age, I see the benefits of that and X-Stretch more and more.

 

[jcayer]

There is one more reason. My younger brother started up a third round as well. He's more athletic than I am, but I do love beating him in push up count every week...It's something for us to have in common and as sappy as it sounds, it's just one more thing for us to talk about together, outside of D&D.

 

[Bullgrit]

I did 4 weeks of maintenance after completing P90X, and lost a few more pounds, (23 total). Then I picked up another round of the full regimen for 5 weeks, and lost just one more pound during only the first week, (24 total). I'm right on the cusp of showing six-pack abs, but after 4 weeks of no weight loss or visible change, I think I've plateaued.

I'm considering going into Insanity, now. I have to do something to get out of this pattern that my body has apparently completely adapted to.

I just watched a kid (17?) on YouTube do the fit test for Insanity, and I'm thinking, "Oh my God! I'm 4-freakin'-3 years old, will this kill me?"

Bullgrit

 

[jcayer]

If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger.

Insanity is a different beast. I will tell you, don't be afraid of it. And most importantly, realize the first 10 minutes are a warmup....you don't have to go as fast as he does.

To be honest, the first month isn't terrible. The videos are only 40 minutes...you'll work your ass off, but it isn't impossible. They go up to an hour for the second month....you'll do push ups almost everyday.

My biggest complaint is there is very little diversity between the videos...they're all very similar, so it does get boring.