P90X+ Review

I posted this on the Beachbody Message Boards in reply to someone asking about P90X+.

Here is my take on P90X+

Upper Plus: Great Upper Body workout, but you dont get as pumped as the P90X workouts. With the P90X workout you do more sets per muscle (chest, back, biceps, etc...). With Upper Plus, most things are timed and not for reps, so you will generally do more than 8-10, which is more for toning.

Ab Core Plus: This one is longer than Ab Ripper X, but I think Ab Ripper X is a more intense ab workout, where Ab Core Plus is exactly what it is called, Ab and Core. You do less intense Ab only moves and a lot of core stuff.

Total Body Plus: Much like Upper Plus, it is a great workout, but you dont get as pumped as you do with the P90X resistance workouts. You will burn a ton of calories, for sure. I think that if you do a P90X round, then a P90X plus round, you will definitely like the results.

Kenpo Cardio Plus: As with Kenpo X it is a decent cardio workout. Kenpo Cardio Plus is an advanced Kenpo X. A lot more cardio and more advanced combos then Kenpo X. It is shorter but still more intense than Kenpo X. I will touch more on the pacing and duration of these later.

Interval Plus: Oh man do I love this workout. It surpasses Plyo for intensity and though shorter, you will get an amazing cardio workout out of it. The best workout of P90X+ hands down (imho).

All of the P90X plus workouts are shorter, but not for being less workout, but because the pacing is must faster. You do shorter warm-ups and stretches and you do less in between exercises and take shorter breaks. Tony also spends less time on demo of the moves as he has an alternate audio track with trainer tips that goes into more detail.

That said, after doing P90X+ workouts I find the pacing in the P90X workouts too slow, so I fast forward in them a lot. I can get through chest and back in about 43 minutes by fast forwarding through the water breaks and some of the exercises where I finish a lot earlier (I start when Tony starts explaining the move and finish shortly after they start some of the time). By the time I am done with a faster paced chest and back, I am feeling it.

If you are doing this to bulk up, I would stick with P90X. If you are doing it for fitness, to lose weight, to get ripped, etc... you will get great results from the P90X+ workouts. And doing the + after the X will be a great plan.

I am currently in training mode for a triathlon, so I mix in both P90X and P90X+ workouts with my triathlon workouts. Once I am done with that I will probably do Insanity but after that I will probably do another P90X round, then a P90X+ round.

Filling in the gaps

Ok, so I am not the most prolific blogger in the world. What could have been keeping me away from my oh so popular blog? Well I got the swine flu for one, that sucked. Also life has been happening so thats all I will say about that.

I was unable to work out for a while when I was sick, so I decided to start over with P90X and I am actually doing a modified P90X+ round. I say modified because I registered to do a sprint triathalon. That is a half mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. Certainly no IronMan, but it is a start. So here is how my training week works:

Day 1 - Upper Plus and Ab Ripper X (Not quite ready for Abs Core Plus)
Day 2 - Interval Plus
Day3 - Run/Swim
Day 4 - Bike/Swim
Day 5 - Run/Bike
Day 6 - Total Body Plus
Day 7 - X Stretch (sometimes a light run)

So, that seems to be working for me and I am definitely making progress. I can do all of the distances right now, but I want to do it faster.

Since I stopped my P90X at around day 56, here is a run down of the changes I have experienced during that time:

Weight down from 255 to 220.
Chest down from 51" to 42"
Waist down from 42" to 37"
Hips down from 45" to 39"

Pre P90X I could do 7 pushups, now I can do 50 easily.
I couldn't do one pullup, now I can do 5 without cheating and 10-12 with a kip (as the weight goes down more I expect this will go up as well).
I couldn't touch my toes, now I can almost get my nose to my knees when I stretch.

All in all, P90X is a great program and after my Triathalons this summer I will do another round. It is worth every penny and is very easy to keep up with, provided you don't get the hiney virus (h1n1 heh).

P90X Update

So, haven't posted here in a bit. I wanted to give a quick p90x update.

Today I started week 3 of p90x. I did a very heavy chest, back and ab workout. I have been sticking to the diet pretty religiously and I am starting to see results. Clothes are looser, face looks thinner, had to tighten my belt up etc... All of which are great things. I lost some weight but I am losing more fat and that is the big one. I am gaining muscle, so the scale is not the best judge for this. Muscle weighs more than fat. It can be tricky and I can see how it would trip some people up, because you have an idea in your mind that you are supposed to see the weight go down on the scale and also feel it in how your clothes fit.

But p90x is a very heavy workout program. I did ar0und 200 pushups and around 100 pullups today. You gain muscle and it comes fast as you adapt to the workouts. P90x is all it is billed to be. If you are overweight, you will lose weight and get fit. If you are fit, you will get ripped. It is going well for me so far, and I love the workouts. I do them in the morning and I look forward to getting up and doing the next one.

Tomorrow morning I have Plyometrics, or jump training. It is about as intense a cardio workout as you can get. I can't wait.

I will post some pics as I reach the various milestones - 30 days, 60 days and 90 days.

Also, if anyone wants to learn how they can make money while doing p90x or just get yourself a 25% discount of Beachbody products, go over to Bring It Milwaukee and read about becoming an independant Beachbody Coach.

P90X in 3 days

In three short days I will start the P90x program. It is an intense fitness program designed for maximum results. Today I went through the Core Synergistics DVD and made it through it. I was exhausted, sweaty, and ready for more. I am looking forward to this challenge. The last time I felt this motivated about a challenge, I was on a bus heading to Parris Island.

Tomorrow I am gonna run through the Cardio X DVD, and take Saturday off. Then start with Chest and Back DVD on Sunday. Then it is on. I will bring it. I will push play.

I am still owning this. It is not a matter of wanting to lose weight. It is a matter of when.

Times they are a changin (micro version)

In my twenties, I was fit, active and full of self-confidence. Now as I come to the end of my thirties, I can claim none of those things. Over-weight, out of shape, don't get out much partly because I lack much of the self-confidence I used to possess. I have spent the last several years saying things like "I sure would like to get in shape," or "I really need to lose weight." I am not alone in this, as many Americans find themselves over-weight and out of shape.

Someone pointed out to me that when you say things like "I really need to lose weight." You are saying it as if you are outside of the statement. You do not own it and therefore you do not intend to do it. When I change the statement to put myself in it and own it, it makes all of the difference and is what separates success from failure - "I AM going to lose weight." Slight change, but a major one from perspective of the person saying it. I want to, I would like to, I ought to, I should, these are all outside of what you hope to achieve.

Losing weight is the easiest thing in the world to do. I mean that the formula for successfully losing weight is a simple one - eat less and exercise. Simple, or stated another simple way - reduce the calories you take in to less than what you need to sustain your present weight. This is so easy, yet nearly impossible for so many people. The reason is also simple. People still are outside of the problem, and they don't commit, they dont make losing weight a priority in their life (hmm go to the gym or watch Lost? Well its late and I will just be up all night if I work out now....). If you don't go into it like it is the one thing in your life that you will not miss, you will not succeed. It is a simple fact that our nature finds us seeking an easier softer way, but to lose weight, eat less, exercise, keep doing it.

In a short time I will be starting the P90x program. I am giving this one my all. I will complete it and I will follow the program to the letter. I know it is hard and a lot of work, but I am going to do it and I will not quit. I am inside this one, I own it. I will lose weight. I will be fit. I will... I will....

Kindle for iPhone pt2

So I have been playing with the Kindle app for the iPhone today and it is a nice addition. It is just good enough, but the experience still remains far superior on the Kindle. It might have been the books that I selected, an Objective-C programming book, and a Neil Gaiman book- Neverwhere, but there was just enough text per page to make it feel like you had to change pages after every paragraph, but only just. The code examples in the Objective-C book didnt really translate well, but thats to be expected; not a lot of room to properly indent the code so it looks messy.

My complaints are small though. The bottom line is that the Kindle for iPhone app is a keeper, and is a very nice win for both Apple and Amazon.

Kindle for iPhone, hmm...

I had no interest in the Kindle. It was intriguing, yes, but I didn't think I would shell out tree fitty for one. Just saw starting to come across twitter that you can now read Kindle books on the iPhone. My antennae perked up. hmm, that is an interesting development.

So I log on to the App Store, search for Kindle; find the Kindle for iPhone app, download it and I head over to Amazon. com to start looking for a book to read. Looks good so far. I will post more after checking it out for a bit.

The most interesting thing about this is Apple ignoring the e-book market. Not sure what it means, I could speculate of course, but it would just be conjecture. It is interesting never-the-less.

In related news, still waiting to hear back from Apple on acceptance into the iPhone developer program. About 50% done with my app, and at this rate I will be ready for testing by the time I get approved (if I do). Maybe tomorrow...

Kicking and Screaming...

I have been an avid user of the 'tubes since the www came to be. I used to be up on the latest goings on of the interwebs, and still consider myself to be a "with it" net nerd. I have resisted much of Web 2.0 crap because well it seemed just like re-marketing of existing tools to cash in. Social Networking, Blogs, Collaborative sites, etc... All seem like variations of BBS', message boards, chat rooms, etc... So I resisted. I never had a MySpace account. I only recently started using Facebook, and now I am starting to blog. So what caused the change of heart?

My iPhone.

The iPhone was the first smartphone that ever made sense to me, and I have owned several. 10 years ago the tech wonks would talk about convergence of technologies into one device. The iPhone is that device. It changed the game and now all of the mobile makers are playing catch-up. I like having it all in one device. I am writing this on my Mac which also runs Windows and Linux (using Parallels). So the idea of a phone that ties all of the stuff I use, iPod, Web, Email, IM, text messaging, with the wide world of the App Store and what that opens up to me, well it was too much for me to resist.

I was a Web 2.0 luddite, but that little phone I am never without opened the door and showed that there is actually some useful shit out there that I have been ignoring cause my message boards were good enough for social networking and sharing my uninvited thoughts with the fellow citizens of the tubes. No more, I now embrace it, cause it is so easy to do on my iPhone, and with my iPhone it just makes sense. I can't really explain it more than that.

My first ever update on Facebook was an explanation that I was dragged kicking and screaming to it by my wife. I came to start a blog on my own, but internally there was definitely some kicking and screaming. That will be kind of a theme with my blog. Opening up to the world out there, IRL and on the tubes. I always thought I was too cool to jump on the latest trends, but sometimes they are worth checking out. Here we can check them out and blast em if they suck or praise them when they don't. Later...