P90x Challenge – Week 1
April 14th, 2010 
Tyson 
Our P90x participants have all completed week 1 of the P90x challenge. Lets check in to see how they did.
Neale
I was super sore this week but really do enjoy the workouts since it’s different than anything I’ve ever done. I ended up not using weights yet but still could really feel a burn as the workout continued. I also found myself doing the lower impact modifications trying not to overdo it yet. Work is extremely busy so did find it difficult to dedicate the time for working out but continued to do so as it’s important for making the life change. I liked most of the workouts with the exception of Yoga. I hate yoga. I’m sure it will get better as I become more flexible but it is much harder than it looks. So far I haven’t made any real changes to diet but do intend to eat healthier. There was one day that I wasn’t able to work out due to scheduling but it’s helpful having Kylie workout with me as we push each other.
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Tyson
After Monday’s workout I was pretty sore. I have done this workout dozens of times but mainly going off of a paper sheet at the gym. Its completely different when you have Tony Horton blaring in your ear to complete another rep and to not give up to early. He really pushed me for a few more reps that I probably wouldn’t normally push out. My wife did YogaX with me on Thursday but because of time constraints, we were only able to do 60 minutes. We did a lot of the beginning and then went to the poses. Saturday I skipped Kenpo and did a nice run outside complete with sprints. I have not had any major issues this week that would prevent me from doing a workout. Next week however is going to be a bit more of a challenge.
My diet has been pretty good. I am doing this challenge while I eat Primal so I am not following the P90x Nutritional guide. I think my results are good so far.
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Shane
For me, the high was that I actually got up and worked out every day. I have been getting up and doing an easy yoga in the morning for a while, but to get up and get moving was a challenge. However, Tony Horton is kind of cheesy. I know that’s his style because I’ve done other videos of his, but he can be a little grating. Another big challenge for me was that my knees feel like their going to give out on nearly all of the lower body workouts. I’ve been modifying them to make them less stressful on my knees, but I feel like I’m not getting a full effort out of them.
The yoga workout is good, but it’s really long. Not only that, but my arms and shoulders burn incessantly because we have to stay in the poses for so long. Combine that with my knees and the yoga is probably the most challenging to me. I like the chest and arms workout and the Kenpo.
On the diet front, I really haven’t changed too much. Even so, I’ve been watching what I eat somewhat, but not making huge modifications. I really want to see just how much this working out every day is going to affect me.
I feel OK. Really sore and my knees hurt. But besides that, it’s been a good first week.
(Shane emailed me later and told me he has also lost 2lbs this last week. Way to go Shane!)
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Kylie
So far, I absolutely love this workout! It works muscles I’ve never worked before, which means I’ve been pretty sore. To begin with, I found myself trying to go all out instead of pacing myself and by the end of the video I would be too tired to do the exercises correctly. I’ve learned that it’s okay to do the modified versions or not do as many reps. The plyometrics is my favorite, even though I was sore for the next 3 days. If I had to pick a least favorite, it would probably be yoga. I haven’t made any major changes to my diet but I do find myself eating a little healthier. What’s the point in working out everyday if you are going to counteract it with junk food? And I love working out with my dad, we push each other to do our best and not to quit when we get tired.
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Jordan
Recap:
High’s: The workouts are intense, but the directions are simple enough to follow that I don’t feel like I’m getting lost in what I’m supposed to be doing.
Low’s: I don’t like feeling the burn before I go to work, where I already feel the burn because that’s what I do for a living.
Didn’t work out 3 of the 6 days. I have problems get out of bed in the morning, despite 3 alarm clocks. I thought I could play catch up by doing the workouts at night, but by the end of the day I’m pooped from work. I know those aren’t great excuses, but, those are the reasons I didn’t work out.
I have the resistance bands for the workouts, but I don’t know how much I care for them during the exercises. It doesn’t always feel like I’m getting the desired effect when I use them.
I haven’t made much of a change to my diet, although we have been eating home lunches more at work instead of our usual fast food frenzy. The physical feeling on my stomach from eating a sandwich at home to eating a greasy double stack from Wendy’s is night and day.
I’ve added a little bit of cardio, which is something I personally feel I need more of, so I started walking about a mile every morning up and down my long country driveway.
P90x Primal Style – Week 1
This past week really flew by. Week 1 went really well. I started Day 1 Chest and Back on Monday with a 24 hour fast. I am always amazed by the amount of energy that I continue to have while working out and fasting. I was a little afraid that the intensity of P90x combined with the fast would decrease my overall energy both for the workout and the day but both remained very strong. I continue to eat based on Primal living which means no grains and plenty of fats. So far my weight and body-fat has remained unchanged.
I stuck with the program on all days except for Yoga and Kenpo. Yoga I had to cut short by 30 minutes and Kenpo I replaced with a run complete with sprints. I also played basketball on my Yoga day which added to my total cardio.
Elite Athletes Need to Diet?
I received this flier in the mail last week and as I was flipping through the pages, I got a good chuckle out of the title on this one. It reads “Hardcore Diet Products for Elite Athletes”. The last I heard, elite athletes where the best of the best. Do they really need hardcore diet products? I am also guessing that if you are an elite athlete, you probably are banned from taking half of the ingredients found in those hardcore diet products. If anything, it gave me a good laugh and hopefully did the same for you.
P90x Challenge Participants
I would like to take a moment and introduce the participants of my latest P90x Challenge. I am very excited about this group. We have people from very different backgrounds and lifestyles but all with a common goal: to be healthier. I am so excited to see how everyone transforms during the next 90 days. Please take a moment to offer up some words of encouragement in the comments and check back weekly for updates.
Gina
Tell us about your athletic background: None since childhood
Tell us about your job and work schedule: I am a Vet Tech nights, weekends, and all holidays. I am a recent graduate for medical assistant i am undergoing my internship at large medical group Monday-Friday daytime hours.
Please tell us about your home life? I live with my boyfriend who has 3 children
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? I would like to look good for summer!
Where do you want to be in 90 days? I would like to be 20lbs lighter
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Neale
Tell us about your athletic background: I played sports (baseball and football) in high school and have played softball off an on in my adult life. Nothing consistent or focused by any means in the last 15 years.
Tell us about your job and work schedule: My job is very demanding and requires lots of early morning, late nights and weekends. I sit at a desk and/or in meetings most of the day.
Please tell us about your home life: Married + 2 kids (Evan – 8, Kylie – 16) Kids are involved in sports and requires practices at least a few times a week.
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? To start a new fit life and get more healthy.
Where do you want to be in 90 days? Neither weight or body fat is my goal. I’m really looking to change my lifestyle so I can have more energy and become a better husband, dad, etc.
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Tyson
Tell us about your athletic background: I have always been big into sports and working out. I started weight training during High School and used to be a competitive cyclist. I have worked out off and on for many years.
Tell us about your job and work schedule: I work your typical 5 day work week with some evening work thrown in from time to time. I pretty much sit at a computer all day. During my lunch break is when I get to the gym.
Please tell us about your home life? I am married to a gorgeous woman and I have two daughters (8 and 6). Between the 4 of us, we always have something going on that keeps us busy and running around. We always find time to eat a healthy supper together though.
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? I have done P90x a few times. I have put this challenge together for my friends because I am hoping that we can all motivate one another to be successful at it. There is strength in numbers and I think everyone will see that in the new few months.
Where do you want to be in 90 days? I would love 6-pack abs. I have never had them and it would be so great but my ultimate goal is to just be healthy so that I can continue to take care of my family.
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Jordan
Tell us about your athletic background: I don’t typically exercise, but I have a very physical job that keeps me in relative shape. Once the snow melts, I usually walk about 2 miles a day, on top of whatever I do at work.
Tell us about your job and work schedule I’ve been doing flooring installation for about 2 years now. I bend over, stoop, kneel, crawl, and spend a majority of the day hunched over or lifting very heavy rolls of carpet and flooring materials. I work Monday through Friday, typically 9 to 5, or until done with the jobs.
Please tell us about your home life? I am single. When I get home from work on a typical week day, I pour a pint or two of my favorite beer and start doing work at home. I do a lot of craftsman work, so a majority of my free time is spent on home renovation. I didn’t own a television for nearly the past 3 years. I home brew craft beer, and it is good! I’ve also recently taking taken up cooking a brand new dish every weekend, to try new foods and recipes. The rest of my free time is spent playing guitar/making music.
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? I’m in the best shape of my life right now, but it’s still not where I want to be. I want to build more muscle and get toned, and lose these “love-hate” handles. I also want to support my brother, and if it means doing grueling exercise for 90 days then that’s what I’ll do!
Where do you want to be in 90 days? I want to lose these love handles. I’ve been hovering around 205 in weight, but can’t seem to get under that. More importantly though, it’s not where I want to be physically, it’s where I want to be mentally. I want to WANT to work out and be healthy.
Height: 6′ 4″
Weight: about 205 lb
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Shane
Tell us about your athletic background: I played sports from elementary school all the way through college. I played soccer like every little kid, I swam competitively for a while as a kid, played basketball later (because I was tall), football as well (because I was big and tall). In 7th grade, I started playing volleyball with a close group of friends. That’s really where I found my athletic passion. I played in college and most of my workouts centered around ways to improve my volleyball skills: jump training, plyometrics, light weight lifting, etc. Once I got out of college, I tried to keep playing volleyball on club teams and work, life, everything just kind of took precedence over everything else.
Tell us about your job and work schedule: I work normal hours, but I really love my job. Occasionally, I’ll take a walk at lunch with a friend around downtown to take pictures. I rarely have to work on weekends, but I’m also the Assistant Pastor at my church, I teach a class with Alli and the week nights and weekends fill up pretty quick.
Please tell us about your home life? I’m married. I love spending time with my wife and our dog. I love to lay around the house, watching TV, playing around on the computer, blogging. Working out isn’t high on my priority list, even though we picked up an elliptical machine and a Wii to help, getting on those is still a chore. When I come home, I just want to chill out.
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? Alli and I are planning to go to Hawaii this summer for our 10-year anniversary and I’d like to feel OK about walking around without a shirt on.
Where do you want to be in 90 days? I’d like to just look and feel better. I have a long-term goal of losing up to about 75 pounds, but I’m not expecting to reach that in 90 days. If I could lose 25 and maybe have my knees feel better, that would be awesome.
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Kylie
Tell us about your athletic background: I was a competitive gymnast for 7 years, a cheerleader for 4 years, a studio dancer for 5 years, and I am currently on the dance team at GEHS.
Tell us about your job and work schedule: Student, junior at GEHS
Please tell us about your home life? Single and live at home 
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? Well, now that Lent is over and chocolate is back in my diet and I have some time off from dance team, I need something to keep me fit.
Where do you want to be in 90 days? I am not really wanting to lose or gain weight, but I would like to build some muscle and be a little more toned.
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Tony
Tell us about your athletic background: High School athlete. football, wrestling, baseball. Played softball for many years after high school. Its been about 7 years since doing anything competitive.
Tell us about your job and work schedule: 9am-5:30pm M-F. on-call, so some occasional nights and weekend work.
Please tell us about your home life? Divorced. 3 kids that i have 50% of the time. Girlfriend.
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge? Summer is almost here, would like to spend more time at the lake and pool…and not be embarrassed to take the shirt off. I also realize i’m getting older, need to get into shape before I’m too old to make a big change.
Where do you want to be in 90 days? Smaller waist size. Perhaps a 32 inch waist.
Tell us about your athletic background:
Tell us about your job and work schedule:
Please tell us about your home life? (Married? Single? Kids? Extra-Curricular Activities?. What could affect your ability to workout)
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge?
Where do you want to be in 90 days? A certain weight? Body Fat %?
Tell us about your job and work schedule:
Please tell us about your home life? (Married? Single? Kids? Extra-Curricular Activities?. What could affect your ability to workout)
What is your motivating factor for this 90 day challenge?
Where do you want to be in 90 days? A certain weight? Body Fat %?
P90x – Primal Style
Today I am set to start another round of p90x. What makes this a big deal and sets it apart from the other 3 times that I have done it? This time I am doing it while sticking with the Primal way of eating. What does this mean? It means I will eating nothing but
- Meats
- Seafood
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Healthy oils
and I will stay away from
- Sugar
- Grains
- Rice
- anything processed
- anything I deem to be crap
I have been doing the Primal lifestyle with great success over the last 3 months but now I really want to step it up. That is why I am going to combine p90x and Primal together. In the next three months I look to transform my body into a lean machine. My ultimate goal is 6 pack abs. The 6-pack has eluded me for the last 32 years but no longer. This is the year that I will finally get what I have spent so much time in the gym trying to achieve.
I am going to blog about my progress every week. Each post will be complete with pictures, success, failures and stats.
It’s been awhile since I have been this excited about a workout. I cant wait to see what happens in 90 days. If you are in the process of doing P90x, please share your story in the comments. Extra motivation is always good.
Here are my Day 1 photo’s and stats:
Weight: 175lbs
Arms:
- Right – 15″
- Left – 14.5″
Legs:
- Right – 23″
- Left – 22.5″
Waist: 33″
Body Fat: 11.0%
Let the journey begin!
