Phase 1 of P90X

Okay, so if you’ve been following me, you know that I started out doing Jamie Eason’s Live Fit 12 week trainer on www.bodybuilding.com in September 2012, and got pretty good results from doing it. By December 2012 I had loss 12 pounds. Afterwards, I was going to jump into P90X, but once I got started with it, I gave up on it. Why? Because: (1) I wasn’t able to keep up with the DVD’s ; (2) I didn’t want to purchase equipment knowing I had a gym membership that I was paying for, and (3) I couldn’t stay focused exercising at home.

Now fast forward to April 2013. I had gained back all the weight that I loss doing Jamie Eason’s Live Fit, and I was sick to my stomach about it. Yes, I had eaten sort of clean, but that didn’t give me a license to overeat. I ended up gaining the weight back on my clean diet because I lacked portion control. So I decided to start P90X May 15, 2013. I decided I would build up to being able to keep up with the DVD’s. Then my birthday rolled around, and the P90X workouts began to taper off. After my birthday, I gained all of what I had loss in two weeks back in one week. I became extremely motivated to get down to a comfortable size and stay there, so I restarted the workouts from the beginning on June 10th. Here is a quick breakdown of my review of Phase 1:

Training – Just like I did with the Live Fit program, I had to modify some of the exercises. For example, I did all of the pushups on my knees. When doing Ab Ripper X, I did bicycles with the support of leaning back on my elbows, and I did the Mason Twist without keeping my legs lifted. I kept my reps to 12 – 15 for the most of the exercises, and did the Plyo and Kenpo exercises the best I could without giving up. I used bands and a chair for the pull-ups and went at my own pace. The worst workouts was Core Synergetic and Yoga X. I was not able to keep up with even half of those DVDs, yet received great results from doing them. I thought that doing these workouts would get boring, but it doesnt because each week you are increasing your reps, and using less modifications to the exercises. I was challenged every week.

Motivation – My before and after pictures kept me motivated. Each week I took pictures and weighed myself. Seeing the pounds drop off, and clothes begin to fit better was my motivation. The fast results from doing the workouts makes it worth it.  

Diet – I have been following my own advice such as: drinking more water, not snacking on carbohydrates and sugar, eating only when I am hungry, and reducing my portion sizes. I aslo have not ate meat since June 7, 2013, and I have made a drastic decrease in my dairy intake as well. Instead I eat more plant based protein, and very little cheese and milk. I kept my calories to about 1,500 a day.  

Results – I haven’t loss a lot of weight. I loss 4lbs, but my inches has decreased. I am energetic, confident, and even more flexible.

Phase 1 Advice – Invest in free weights from 5lbs – 20lbs. You can always hold two 20lb weights together to get 40lbs, or invest in adjustable weights. Invest in the resistance bands for those who can’t do pull-ups, and modify the exercises according to your ability. One of my bands broke too. I guess I was pulling that sucker a little too far. When that band snapped back and hit me, I though I had been shot. Be careful! If you have a gym membership, you can do the workouts at your gym after you get in the habit of doing the workouts. For example: Chest & Back is just 2 supersets of about 6 forms of pushups and 6 back exercises. Once you get in the habit of doing those exercises, do them at your local gym, using their dumbbells and assisted pull-up bars to avoid purchasing more weights to suit your needs.

Don’t get frustrated with your inabilities in the beginning. Don’t worry about not keeping up with the people in the video, just pace yourself and take your time, and modify the exercises. Stick with it because I got great results doing only half of what they do in the videos. Be sure to keep track of your food intake. I used MyFitnessPal and ate 1,500 calories a day. I was able to do this by increasing my water and fiber intake. How much you are eating is going to make the biggest difference in the type of results you get. The workouts tone you up so that you lose inches and helps you burn fat faster, but your nutrition will determine how many pounds you lose. Wear your sneakers while doing the workouts. Don’t try to do it barefoot or in your socks. Your feet will need stability.  

This week starts Phase 2. Since I am taking the doubles approach, I will be doing Cardio X and weight training . I love the results thus far, and I’m excited to see what Phase 2 brings. Remember to check out my photo gallery to view before and after pictures of my progress. Feel free to post a comment of encouragement or questions you have about the program. Those comments help keep me and others stay motivated.

The next update will post on August 5th.