It ain't over yet...

The shoulder is feeling good, and my finals are over on Monday...

Day 1, take 2...

Final Post

It's officially over. Actually I quit about 2 weeks ago. This program is freakin tough. It takes dedication. I will be impressed with anyone who can finish this all the way through.

My personal opinion is that this program works best for people who are looking to shed a few pounds. You will definitely get ripped. This program is not for people looking to build mass. It's perfect for the person who's looking to get rid of that beer gut. Overall, I think my core improved the most. A lot of the exercises that I did when I used to go to the gym focused on specific body parts such as chest and bis. This program hits up everything. You'll be sore everywhere and at least walk away with a 4 pack.

I'm definitely going to stick with this program for the summer, but I'm going to make up my own schedule for the videos. I'll probably mix it up with some heavy lifting in the gym too.

I'm still eating like crazy. That was the best thing about this program. You can pretty much eat as much as you want considering how many calories you burn. Every video minus yoga is a cardio workout too.

Let this be a lesson to us all

It's true. I have fallen off the horse. In an extreme showcase of poor judgment, I chose (while inebriated mind you) to perform one of the most difficult yoga positions that P90X has to offer, the shoulder stand X followed by the diamond shoulder stand X. After several rounds of Kings, I managed to completely disregard Tony's stern warnings to always warm up and stretch before doing any of his workouts for risk of sustaining injury. Lo and behold, the inevitable happened, and I felt and heard a pop in my neck that immediately let me know I was an idiot.

After giving it a few days of rest, I realized that I needed to get it checked out before attempting to X it again.

The doc confirmed that the pain in my neck, back and shoulder all stemmed from my trapezius muscle, which extends over the shoulder cap. I received some treatment and noticed significant results fairly quickly, but minor pains have lingered. I've been getting massage treatments as well which seem to be the best way to get short term relief. However, they are getting rather expensive, and I'm now starting to think I'll just have to live with the pain. Let my mistake be all of our lesson. ALWAYS STRETCH AND WARM UP!

There is a bright side. According to some studies, strength training might be just what I need, and P90X is just about the best strength training I've ever experienced. Maybe getting back on the horse is the only medicine that can bring me back to 100%.

Fallen Soldiers

Not sure why I created a poll with who would quit P90x first. The poll should have been who's likely to get injured or sick first. Believe it or not, Darren is not the first to be injured.

Of course during week 5 again I struggled. This time though I was sick with the stomach flu. I was in bed for at least 5 days. My diet was completely screwed up and I'm sure I lost at least 10 pounds. I'm better now and back on the program eating whole chickens again. I just completed my first week back and I have to say it felt like week 1 again. Soreness everywhere. I've got my second wind though and I'm ready to finish the program strong.

Last I heard from Aaron he had a neck/back injury from doing P90x under the influence. His main focus is now playing video games. Hopefully he can rejoin the program for the last month.

Jory got sick with a cold and sounded like he'd been chewed up and spit out by Tony Horton last time I talked to him.

Darren has fled the state. You never know what your going to get with that guy. I asked him if he was still X'ing and he sent me a text that said "I was, but now in alaska working out with recruits at state trooper academy!" I guess P90x wasn't enough for this guy and he had to take it to the next level.

What Nobody Expected

I just took a peek at Adog's facebook profile and found this picture. It's barely week 5 and this guy is super yolked!

Dude are you on creatine or having you been working out with Hector too? Your muscles do look confused. How many eggs do you eat a day?

Plyometrics and Core Synergy and Yoga, Oh My!

Jory has been diligently following P90X for weeks. I know this because our apartment smells of eggs and protein shakes 24/7, and I can't walk two feet without tripping over weights or a yoga mat. He's been known to slip in references about Tony, Pam aka Blam and the guy with one leg during conversation. There are also moments throughout the week when he will look over at me and silently make an "X" with his arms, then go back to eating half a cow, two chickens and a few boiled eggs. The picture to the right was taken pre-X. He now has lost ten pounds and is looking pretty svelte. I think the next sixty days are promising for our boy Jory.

30 Days Down

The first four weeks of the program went solid. I wasn't trying to lose weight, but I ended up losing 10 pounds. The first phase of the diet is called "Fat Shredder". I didn't lose weight from a lack of eating food. If anything I ate more than the plan outlined. Per Aaron's suggestion I even threw in another protein shake. I basically just ate healthy following the plan outlined and worked out religiously. eating healthy + working out = losing weight. These guys are geniuses.

My flexibility has improved, but in terms of lifting I've been in this kind of shape a few times. I'm ready to take this to the next level. The next 60 days should be exciting. We'll see how much the program switches it up and if these new exercises really confuse my muscles. haha.

I refueled this week getting my vitamins, protein, and food all in place. I'm ready to go the distance as we enter round 2.

Update on Darren

received from an anonymous source, this photo reveals two things about darren... 1. he still has the same bedding from five years ago; 2. his midnight snacking habits appear to be changing... p90x?

I'm doin' 15, he's doin' 100...

During the sit and twist move at the end of Ab Ripper X, is anyone able to keep up with Tony as he does like a hundred of those things in a row?!? The first time I did it, I could only do like 15. I'm getting better and better and now I average around 30-35. I even did 40 one day. But damn, that guy goes on forever! I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only one that still can't keep up. So I'm taking a poll. How many twists are you doing at the end of Ab Ripper? Be honest.

Darren went Dark

Since the start of P90X nobody has heard from Darren. We're unsure of his progress or if he even started for that matter.

I was browsing through some old pictures on my computer and I ran into this one. This picture was taken one morning when I used to live with him. I think he was saving that cookie overnight on the corner of his bed to eat when he woke up. Did Darren slip back to his old cookie stashing ways?

9 pounds in 10 days

On day 1, I weighed approximately 203 pound. I struggled to get through the first dvd, chest and back, and woke up on day 2 feeling horrible. Not only was I extremely sore from the workout, but I also had all the symptoms of a cold. I was in such bad shape that I couldn’t function properly. I think the video was so intense that it sent my body into a bit shock and lowered my immune system. After some consideration I decided to wait on doing the videos until I was completely recovered.

After 4 days of rest (while sticking to the meal plan), I felt like I was ready to give it another go. I checked my weight and was pleasantly surprised to see that I was 199 (lost a few while I was sick). The workouts were all Xtremely challenging, and every day I woke up sore in a new place that I hadn’t felt soreness in for a long time. On day 10, I woke up and weighed myself at 194! I couldn’t believe it. I had lost 9 pounds in 10 days!

Now I’m more motivated than ever. I’m already almost half way to my weight loss goal of 20 pounds, and at this rate I can probably get down to 180 or lower (my ideal weight). Also, the workouts are getting easier to recover from. I’m not so sore the next day that I can’t move, but I am nowhere near being able to keep up with Tony and the one-legged guy on the video.

Bottom line is that I still have a long way to go, but now the goal is in sight, and there is no wondering whether p90x can work for me. My only question now is how far I can go with p90x.

A little motivation as we enter week 3

Rocky is the man! Thanks for the clip Jory! Just hearing the music on this video makes me want to bench press a car.

As I enter week 3 I'm feeling great. I'm starting to remember the dedication it takes to do this for 90 days. - Phil

The Royal Dancer

So I'm still trying to figure out my schedule for doing P90x. I wanted to do it before work every morning, which requires me to wake up around 5am. Believe it or not I can handle waking up that early every day. I gave it a test run for the first week of P90x. I can't work out at my house at 5am because my lady is still sleeping at that time and I don't think she wants to hearing me grunting out hundreds of push ups before the break of dawn. Instead I would have to do these videos at the gym. I went to Best Buy and bought one of those new video ipods. I converted all the dvds and put them on my ipod. I even had room for a few more thousand songs. Sweet.

I went to golds gym last Wednesday and started up the video on my ipod. I could hear and see Tony and I began those silly stretches. Then I looked up and saw a few people looking at me. You see, some of the stretches are something you want to do behind closed doors. A few of the moves on the video I just skipped altogther. I couldn't bring myself to spread my legs that wide in front of people that early in the morning. I just don't think people really wanted to see that.

When I got to a move called the "Royal Dancer", I realized that I couldn't do these videos in public. I hit stop on the video, went straight to the bench, ripped out a few reps, and then hit the showers. I think I heard someone say "looking ripped James Fonda" on the way to my car. I drove straight to Best Buy and returned my ipod.

Soreness is Creepin

I've done 3 days of P90x and the pain is creeping. My legs are super sore. 90 more days of Plyometrics and I should be able to take any of you to the rack. Actually I should be able to take anybody on the Warriors to the rack. Although that's not saying much these days.

When's the P90x basketball tournament Adog? I'll let you be the first captain. Who do you want Jory or Darren?

The Part Everyone Will Screw Up

I guarantee everyone will screw up the protein part of the diet.

Depending upon your level you will need 7 servings of protein a day. Each serving is equivalent to approximately 3 ounces of meat. That means you need to consume 21 ounces of meat a day. Sometimes I'll eat a steak for dinner which is 8 ounces. On this program I would need to eat a steak for lunch and a small one for breakfast. There's no way I can do that. Instead, I'll pound a breakfast protein shake right when I wake up. There's no other way to eat that much protein in a day without having some for breakfast. I've already knocked out 2 servings of protein this morning so I have 15 ounces of meat to eat for lunch and breakfast. The one nice thing about this program is you can eat a lot of food.

If your a level 3, which I believe is the case with Jory and Darren, then you will need 27 ounces of protein a day. I think my friend Hector had the best idea - "Just put some chicken in your wallet".

Time to set the record straight

I admit that I have been letting myself go physically in the last couple of years, but it's not because I've lost the desire to be fit, far from it. I, like many, many other people my age have just found it hard to balance my time and priorities in a way that would allow me to keep healthy. How easy it would be to stay in shape if we could devote endless hours to playing basketball, baseball, or football on the street like we did in junior high and high school. Instead I spend most of my day sitting at a desk.

Just to be clear, I have no complaints about working in a desk job. But balancing work, school, and now married life has somehow translated to more fast-food and less basketball and working out. Its time to re-prioritize. Its time to get rid of my old bad habits and start managing myself to meet all my goals (not just some of them). Its time to set the record straight.

When Phil told me that he was doing P90X, I thought that this could be the perfect chance for me to get back into shape like I had been talking about for so long. At first he was pumped up about it, always talking about how in shape he was going to be in just 90 days. His enthusiasm was contagious, and I couldn't wait to get started on the program myself. Then it happened. Phil crashed. Actually, Phil crashed hard. This picture was taken of Phil on the night that he fell off. Drunk, tired, and willing to drink any alcohol you put in front of him.
I don't know exactly why. Maybe it was the strict diet plan, or maybe his body was just too beat up from the intense daily workouts. Whatever it was, one thing became clear, Phil couldn't finish P90X on his own. As you can see, he was in decent shape too. I'm pretty sure that he was following the plan to the T. Personally, I think he lost the mental battle, and that's the part that we all have to look out for. The mental games we play with ourselves can easily prove to be our demise. There are just too many times when we can cheat ourselves by over-eating and then conveniently forgetting to write in the extra calories, or just tell ourselves that we're doing what we have to do when we really know we're not. Sooner or later we'll just be right back where we started, or worse.

I know its a cliche, but the truth is that its our lifestyle that has to change. Take Phil for example. Only one month after his falling out, he took his "before" picture for his second attempt at P90X, and it became obvious to him and now to us all that not only will this program not be easy, but that all our situations are probably a lot worse than we previously expected.

Todd's Take on P90X

"My friends and I have all been pretty fit, for the most part, in that we haven't had any major coronary trauma or had to amputate limbs due to late-stage diabetes. We play sports regularly, cramming 6 months worth of basketball into a one day tournament of war-scale aggression, leaving us doubled over in exhaustion or with snapped ankles. Oh, and we once hit the bowling lanes, but negated the exercise by swilling pitchers of beer. Actually, maybe we're not that fit, but we're not fat. (We fluctuate a measley +/-25 lbs here or there)

Basically, we're what you would call 'healthy-unfit.'

And although we've all been indifferent to body-sculpting and have no real experience in proper methods, we've decided to endure an Olympic-style routine, hazards be damned." ~Todd

Ice Cream!

There's protein in ice cream, right? Regardless, we got 11 days left till we start. What's a couple extra scoops when you're pounding Christmas cookies all day anyways?

Bring it!!!

It begins . . .

My friends have always been in pretty good shape. We've been fairly active individuals, but lately we've all been slippin. We are getting older and finding it more and more difficult to make time for working out. Aaron, Jory, Darren, and I are going to attempt this 90 day program and hopefully this blog will keep us motivated. I attempted P90X late last summer, but failed. I could only complete 1 month. I learned that this program takes an extreme amount of dedication. 3 months may seem like a short time, but it's an eternity when your working out every day.

I told Aaron about the program and of course his competitive side kicked in and he wanted to get his hands on P90X immediately. He was asking me months ago about the program, but honestly I didn't think he was up for it. Plus, I kind of wanted to get a head start on him. After only surviving 1 month I realize maybe I was the one who needed motivation.

Aaron and I have been competing since a very young age. I think it's what drove us to be better athletes. Adog has been lifting weights since high school. Recently he hasnt' lifted much, but I know he's on 3 basketball teams and has completed a couple marathons in the past couple years. Despite being in decent shape, I think Aaron has the toughest road ahead. As a newly wed and student of law he will need to learn how to balance his studying, lady time, and this new P90x challenge.

Jory, the youngest guy up for the challenge, has recently expressed the most interest in the program. He seems highly motivated and determined to make a change.

As a kid Jory got some static from his brothers and friends for always sleeping on the couch. Some people went as far as calling him "lazy". Will Jory have the energy to conistently pop in that p90x dvd every day? or will he reach for that "Step Brothers" dvd to start memorizing more Will Ferrell's lines.

Jory definitely has potential to be super ripped. His brothers have proved they have the genetics. Time for Jory to execute.

Darren was on the hunt for a program to kick him in gear. He used to be in great shape. He founded a basketball tournament years ago and reached the pinnacle of his athletic career when he snatched 2nd place in the tournament.

Since our tournament days it's been all downhill. We've played golf together, but I hope that's not a measure of our athleticism. Darren is the only guy who rents a cart to wheel around his golf bag. I guess it's too heavy to carry 9 holes.

I will say he's got a pretty good head start on us. I know he's been committed to the gym the past few weeks. He should be ready to kick it up a notch with P90X.