Losing weight with P90X

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P90X – 5 Days Off

By Tim Pannell On February 9, 2010 No Comments

Today I’m 1 day short of 4 continuous weeks of P90X.

If taken 5 days off.  I had a stock photo shoot most of last week and was up early and out late each day creating photographs in the snow with families and teens.

It was a lot of fun, but it did disrupt our P90X routine.

My wife also hurt herself…..bruising her rib as she dove after a runaway sled with a 5 year old on it before it shot across the road.

She will be out for at least another week or two because of that rib.

Melanie, my sister in law and I got back on the horse today and did the P90X Chest and Back DVD.

We were both struggling more today than we had the last time we did the Chest and Back Workout.

I’m pretty active during my photoshoots.   I roll around a lot on the ground and twist and lean while I shoot.

My abs actually do get a pretty good workout.

In spite of the ab workout, taking 5 days off of P90X was noticeable today.

Over the previous 3 weeks I was consistently doing more reps with more weight week after week.

Today, that streak ended.

I did use push up bars today to get a little more range of motion, but I ran out of gas much sooner than last week.

It’s nice to get going again and I’m grateful to have someone to work out with because it is much easier to keep going when I have to answer to someone other than just myself.

I can tell that this last month has made a difference.

I’m stronger.  I have bigger lung capacity.  I’m also in a better frame of mind.

I’m in this for the long haul.  This is a lifestyle change for me………not just a temporary change of short term habits.

Even when I get down to my target weight, I will continue working out, whether its with P90X or another workout series of DVDs.

If you’ve struggled like me over the years to get your level of fitness back on track, give P90X a try.

I’ve tried a bunch of different programs over the years and nothing has ever worked for me until P90X.

There is enough variety to the exercises that I have not become bored.

There is a great balance of strength training and cardio to help me feel more balanced than ever.

I’m so glad I started on this program……I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

P90X Review – 2 Weeks and Counting

By Tim Pannell On January 27, 2010 1 Comment

Here’s my latest review of the P90X workout program.

P90X is a tough set of workouts.  No sissies allowed.

Our family recently moved from Arizona to Utah and during the 4 month process I wasn’t able to work out consistently.

I had several good weeks, but also some really bad ones as we had to leave the house as many as 30 times a week as prospective buyers would tour our home.

It was a pretty stressful time in our lives and frustrating at times to say the least.

Now that we’re in Utah and settling down I tried to create a situation that would help keep me on track with my workouts.

I believed that if I could get a partner or 2 to workout with me I’d be less likely to talk myself out of working out occasionally.

My main goal this time around is to be consistent.

My wife, my sister in law and I started our P90X workouts 2 weeks ago today.

In the last 2 weeks I’ve only missed a total of 3 days.

I am noticeably stronger even though I still have a long way to go.

2 days ago we did the P90X Shoulders and Arms workout.

I think the next time I do this workout I will need to add 5 pounds to my dumbbells as each exercise  was much easier than the previous time I did the Shoulders and Arms workout.

Yesterday we did the P90X Chest and Back workout.

We finally figured out how to hook up the bands here at the new house.

There’s a loft above the family room where we work out and we just loop the workout bands through the hand rails.

It took us a while to figure that out, but fortunately we did.  This enables us to fully participate in all of the P90X workouts.

Today we did the P90X Core Synergistics workout and enjoyed it a lot.

There are a couple of exercises on the core synergistics disc that are a real struggle for me.

Sphinx push ups and the plank to Chatarunga exercises just kill me.  I know if I stick with it I’ll get better at them both.

Tony Horton is really good at insisting that the proper form is more important than the overall number you do.

I made some progress with my flexibility which was also nice to see.

I’m able to do more and more push ups with each successive workout.

I’m finally getting over this cold/flu I’ve had for the last month.  Breathing has been a struggle for most of that time, but it’s getting better.

I still struggle with the more aerobic exercises because of that coupled with the higher elevation here, but I’m at least making progress.

I’m pleased with how much easier it is to workout everyday now that I have 2 partners keeping me going.

I think this will lead to even better results in the coming months than I’ve experienced in the past.

P90X Review – Where Am I Now?

By Tim Pannell On January 20, 2010 No Comments

01/20/10 – Here’s my candid P90X review explaining where I’m at right now.

I’m now 49 years old.  I currently weigh 267 lbs.  At my worst I was 310 lbs.

I had gotten down to about 260 a couple of months ago.  I gained back 12 pounds over the holidays while we had our house up for sale and moved to Utah just after Christmas.

I attribute that to not exercising (other than riding my bike) eating poorly.  We ate out a lot more often because we were showing the house up to 30 times a week.

I also think my stress levels were elevated and caused me to add weight.

Since starting P90X about 8 months ago I’ve gotten into better shape, but that’s still relative.

If you’re new to this blog you wouldn’t know that I’ve gone from weighing 185 lbs with 6% body fat to weighing over 310 lbs. with 46% body fat at my worst.

I’m a victim of my own making.  As a kid I got used to eating anything I wanted and never gaining an ounce of fat.

I developed really bad habits and my relationship with food was pretty unhealthy.

I used to work out regularly when I was in college.  I would lift weights for 1 1/2 hours and play racquetball for 2 hours a day, 6 days a week.

I never did it to stay in shape.  I did it because it was fun.

I started my own commercial photography business in 1985.  I became much more sedentary and at that point started gaining weight.

I got up to 240 pounds and was hating life.

Before my 19 year old daughter was born I started playing pick up basketball gains in the park at lunchtime 5 days a week and I got back down to 185 lbs.

My body fat percentage was probably around 12% at that point.

Since then I’ve ballooned up again and have been struggling to get a handle on my predicament.

Ideally, I want to weigh around 210 pounds and have a body fat percentage of about 10%…….that’s my goal.

I’m doing this for me, my wife and my kids.

I want to be healthy, I want to enjoy my years as an older guy.

P90X is a great workout program.  I love it.  The only problem with it is actually a problem with me.

I haven’t been consistent.  I’ll do well for a couple of weeks and then I’ll get out of the habit.

I’ll eat well for a couple of weeks and then I’ll gradually add more junk into my diet and before you know it I’m drinking soda instead of water and eating cookies and ice cream.

I know myself well enough to know I could never go cold turkey on that stuff, but I need to learn how to eat it sparingly instead of daily.

I’m understanding my body better than I did a year ago.

I know that I respond well to eating 5 – 6 smaller meals each day instead of 2 or 3 bigger meals.

I know that if I can exercise regularly for 2 weeks it’s easier for me to keep at it.

I know that if I skip more than 1 day of exercise I have a good chance of bailing out on my workouts for as much as several weeks.

Today is day 7 of P90X workouts for the year 2010.  We moved from Arizona to Utah and we’ve been in this house for 10 days.

I’ve established a routine of working out at 8 am with my wife and sister in law and it’s going well.

I’ve had bronchitis for 3 weeks and that’s been holding me back.  The higher altitude up here is also making it more difficult for me to breath so I’m still not riding my bike.

Eventually I’ll be healthy again and I can go back to riding the bike 45 minutes a day along with my P90X workouts.

The workouts are great…….IF YOU DO THEM CONSISTENTLY.

The consistency problem comes from me, not P90X.

I’m now accountable to my wife and sister in law and I believe that will help me stay on track.

In any case, it’s 8 am and it’s time to pop in the P90X Shoulders and Arms DVD.

I fully expect to reach my fitness goals within this next year.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

P90X Core Synergistics – My Abs Are Screaming

By Tim Pannell On January 16, 2010 No Comments

Well today was the third day in a row that I worked out with my wife and my sister in law Melanie.

We popped in the P90X Core Synergistics workout and I think all 3 of us are now sorer than crap.

In spite of any soreness, it feels great to be getting back into the habit of working out.

Core synergistics is a great workout, it covers from your chest to your backside and everything in between.

I can really feel it in my abs as well as my hips.  It’s nice to feel things tightening up as new muscle groups get worked out.

The great thing about the P90X routines is that they switch the training exercises up on each DVD.

Your body doesn’t get too used to one or two specific exercises and then stop responding to them.

I did struggle with my breathing today.  Still feeling the effects of bronchitis as well as the higher altitude up here in Utah.

This worked out a different group of muscles for me as well so those muscles sucked up extra oxygen and left me experiencing some heavy breathing………perv…..lol.

There are several of the exercises that I can barely keep up with and I know that my form isn’t perfect, but I’ve done enough of these P90X workouts to know that over time, I’ll get better and better at them.

Eventually, I’ll master the form and I can increase the intensity as I keep at it.

The trick is not to get discouraged when I feel or look like an idiot trying to pull off some of the more exotic moves  some of the exercises require.

The best thing is this……I feel good working out.  I know that I’m going to be healthier in the long run for doing it.

I know that eventually I’ll get rid of my excess weight and add some extra years to my life.

My overall attitude is better as well when I consistently work out.  It’s much easier to be positive minded.

It’s also nice doing the workout series with someone else.  Having my wife doing it with me is awesome.

I really appreciate her encouragement and help as well as my sister in law’s.

She’s pretty fit already, she and her husband workout a lot.  Tons and tons of running, hiking and racquetball.  She teaches P.E. at the elementary school.

Assembling a support group around has made working out much easier.

Instead of being tempted to stay in bed and blow off working out, I get up because someone else is going to be here and I don’t want to flake on them.

I need all the help I can get at this stage.  I really do want to get over the hump so to speak and change my lifestyle for the rest of my life.

It’s only been 3 days, but I’m off to a great start.

P90X Kenpo X Style

By Tim Pannell On January 15, 2010 No Comments

Okay!   I just finished the Kenpo X P90X Workout with my wife and sister in law and feel pretty good.

I’m still struggling with my breathing, my lungs are scratchy and itchy and operating well shy of 100%, but I’m at least able to keep up with the P90X DVD for the entire hour.

The stretching is always the hardest part of the workout for me.  I’m amazed at how flexible everybody is even though they’re extremely muscular.

It gives me something to shoot for at the very least.

I can say this…….I’m more flexible today than I was the first time I did the Kenpo X workout.

I’m also not nearly as wiped out as I was the first time I did the exercises.

It’s nice to be able to see progress being made over time.

I haven’t done much of anything the last couple of months because of selling our house and moving.  A P90X workout here, a P90X workout there, a 1/2 hour or 45 minute bike ride, but nothing even close to consistent.  Things were way too busy and hectic.

I know, I know……….I should have made time to work out more whether or not life was hectic.

Well, that’s in the past.  I’ll work on that in the future if my life is ever that crazy again.

For now, I’m working on settling into a routine of getting up early and getting my workout done first thing in the morning.

I’ve got some good workout buddies, my wife Kim and her sister Melanie.

It makes it so much easier to get up and get started when I know that someone else will be working out along side me.

It’s nice to know that I have their support.  It’ll help me reach my 210 pound target goal I’m sure.

In the last 9 months I’ve had ups and downs with P90X.  I have learned from my mistakes as well as my successes during that time period.

2010 will be about consistency.  Slow, deliberate, methodical steps that I will take to once and for all get into great shape.

I’m looking forward to feeling more healthy.  Life is too short.  I have to take advantage of the time I have left.

P90X Workout – Hang In There!

By Tim Pannell On September 9, 2009 No Comments

I started doing my 2nd full round of the P90X workouts last week and I’ve lost 2 pounds.  I’m now weighing 266.

I’m also riding the bike for an hour a day as well.  My left knee is still tender, but the motion from the bike doesn’t bother it in the least.

I feel good and I’m feeling all my muscles again after the workout.

I don’t ever remember sweating this much in my life as when I’m doing these workouts.  Maybe it’s because I shave my head and there’s nothing there to soak up the sweat.  Let me rephrase that………..I shave 1/2 my head, the other half falls out before I can get to it.

In any case, my endurance is better than ever.  I have noticed being a bit weaker in general after taking one month off of P90X.  I’ve had to drop 5 lbs off some of the dumbbells I’m using for a few of the exercises.

My guess is that I’ll be adding that weight back on within a week or two and quickly surpass where I left off over a month ago.

I’ve basically got close to 3 more months to go on this and my expectation is to have lost at least 24 more pounds by the end of it.

After this round I will be looking at doing Shaun T’s INSANITY Workouts.  I hear they’re pretty intense.  I hope I’ll be able to keep up.

If you do happen to be overweight like me and are wondering about P90X, I would ask you to check with your doctor first before starting the program.

With that being said…..many overweight guys have asked me if its just too much and too intense of a workout if you’re carrying 50 plus extra pounds.

My answer is it depends on the individual.  I took it pretty easy the first month or so.  I did what I could do and when it got a little cuckoo I slowed down or even rested and waited for the next set of exercises to begin.

Trust your instincts, if you think its pushing you too hard, take an easier approach.  There is always someone on the workout dvd that’s not maxxing out and is taking it a bit easier than everyone else.  Pace yourself and most of all, be patient.

The results will come in due time.  Some people lose weight right away, some are stubborn losers and yet others may put on weight initially.  I put on about 8 pounds before I started losing weight.

I could have gotten discouraged, but instead I just focused on how much better I was feeling and how much more energy I had.  I got through it and eventually started losing the weight.  At my heaviest I was 310 – now I’m 266 and dropping…..pretty cool!

Hang in there!

Battle of Wounded Knee

By Tim Pannell On August 26, 2009 4 Comments

The wounded knee saga from Racquetball continues.  I was a really well behaved boy this week, staying of my feet as much as possible.  The 2 times I went out and walked around I paid the price.

We had friends moving on Thursday night and another friend’s daughter had a wedding reception on Friday night.

It’s not like I can’t get around, but once I get back on my feet, my knee makes all kinds of fussing noises when I go to get up again.  It just wants to hyper-extend all the time now.

It’s actually the heel of my left foot that’s in the most pain at the moment. I guess I’m overcompensating for the knee. I went through this when I stress fractured my right heel playing football on Thanksgiving Day 10 years ago.

Pain seemed to move around from one foot to the other, one knee to the other and one leg to the other as I overcompensated for the overcompensations. Iti sucked.

That took forever to rehab from. It was almost 2 years before I was pain free on that one.

What a spazz I must be.

I’ll spend time this week in the pool and slowly start working it back into shape.  To say I’m frustrated would be an understatement.

We have so much going on at the moment, I just don’t have time to be a gimp.  My goal is just to get to the point where I can start back up on P90x by Sept. 1st.  I’ll keep all of you posted on how it’s coming.

Racquetball and Photography

By Tim Pannell On August 15, 2009 No Comments

It’s been a while since my previous post……sorry about that.  I’ve been super busy writing content for a photography workshop I’m teaching online in October for moms that want to take better pictures of their kids.

It’s coming along pretty well, but it has consumed almost all of my free time.  I haven’t done any P90X workouts since my initial 90 day period.

This week I have been playing racquetball for 1 to  1  1/2 hours a day.  It’s been good to get back in the court, but I haven’t played as well as I used to in the past.  My go to shots are rusty to say the least and more than anything I think I’m sidetracked with my photography workshop to the point that I’m having a hard time getting my head into the games.

That’s a new problem for me.  I’m also struggling with my left knee again.  It is sore as crap and my left heel is bruised from a poorly timed landing.  I’m falling apart, quite literally.  I have stuff just hanging on by threads at this point in my life.  Another adjustment, I was pain free for the last 3 months….it was nice!

I’m playing somebody new this morning and I’m concerned I’m too sore to give him any kind of run for his money.  I guess we’ll see.

I will be starting round 2 of P90X on September 1st and am looking forward to getting back into those workouts.  I’ve taken a little time off just to see what happens to my body and I can tell my arms especially are getting a little softer.  I will do some weightlifting next week, but not an all-out P90X assault.

I still weigh 268.  I have been there for a month now.   At the beginning of this journey one of my main goals was to not get discouraged if the weight didn’t just fall off my body even when I was working out hard.  I know that I’m healthier and more fit when I’m exercising consistently.   I’ve been riding the bike the entire month of August except for this week when I started playing R-ball every day.

I’m gearing up for September with the goal to hit it pretty hard.  I’ll do P90X workouts and ride the bike at least 6 days a week and throw in some racquetball for good measure unless my knee and heel keep flaring up.

It’s been a fun ride so far.  I’ve gone from a high of 310 down to 268.  I have a total of 58 more pounds to go til I hit my goal weight of 210.  Once I’m there I’ll make some decisions about what comes next.  I may decide to lose a little more weight or I may decide just to maintain, depending on how I carry it.

Well……I went and played racquetball this morning and I think I totalled my knee.  I hit a kill shot along the left wall and went to slide out of the way.  My left foot stuck to the floor as if it was nailed there.  That almost never happens on this court.  My knee hyperextended and buckled and I went down.

As is typical for me, I got back up and played.  My adrenaline kicks in and I’m kind of stupid “old school” that way.  You never quit unless stuff is actually falling off you.  It was really sore yesterday and if I wasn’t paying attention it would buckle and just give out.

I woke up today and can’t even put any pressure on it without it collapsing……..how fun is that! ? !  Getting my knee scoped right now is so not good timing.  I guess it never is, but I have so much on my plate at the moment.  Today’s Sunday.  I’ll stay off it all day and see if it’s any better at all tomorrow and if not……..off to the docs office.  I hate doctor’s offices, I know I shouldn’t feel that way, but I hate going.

I also hate surgery.  I had 60% of the cartilage in my left knee removed when I was 18 years old.  That’s why my left knee has continually given me trouble.  I had xrays done a couple years ago and it was pretty close to bone on bone at that time.  Who knows how bad it is now.

The real bummer for me is that for the first time in years my knee was pain free the whole time I was doing P90X and riding the bike.  No pain, no swelling, no problems.  Maybe it’s time for me to give up on racquetball.  I hope not, I love the game.  It’s also great exercise.

I’ll keep you posted.

P90X Diet Tips – Processed Sugar Sucks So Bad!

By Tim Pannell On August 4, 2009 No Comments

Holy crap! My wife made a gazillion chocolate chip cookies to send out as thank yous to a bunch of our friends who’ve been total sweethearts to us and our kids.

It’s a nice gesture. There is a problem though. I like those $#%@^@* cookies. I hear them calling to me when I’m in the other room. My wife has been unsuccessful at packaging up those cookies and getting them delivered fast enough so that I don’t sample the crap out of the dang things.

A ate a couple, I mean a few of them. Ok, ok……I’ve eaten a bucket of the things. Let me tell you, I’m now paying the price. My workout today practically killed me. I haven’t been this lethargic since before I started the P90X workouts 3 months ago. All this processed sugar sucks!

I’ve been riding the bike religiously over the last couple of months with the exception of 2 weeks ago when we were traveling and I can put a good hour in without really even feeling it.

I barely got into it 30 minutes today and my legs just gave up on me. I went to lift weights afterwards and they felt at least twice as heavy as normal.

The rest of these cookies better get delivered tonight or I won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow. I have never had this much incentive to not eat this junk anymore. I don’t want to feel like this ever again. I have got to remember how I’m feeling right now the next time I’m tempted to eat a bunch of sugary crap.

Tomorrow will be all about healthy foods and balance. I’ll get my Shakeolgy Protein Shake in the morning and eat some fruit. I’ll eat my 5 – 6 small meals and get myself feeling “normal” again.

I’ve said for a long time that it’s not enough to just work out doing my bike riding and P90X, but that I have to eat wisely as well. I’ve really done a pretty good job of not eating too much garbage over the last 3 months.

Today was an exception, I had 6 of these cookies about a half hour before my workout and I was completely wasted. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I don’t want to take any chances.

I want to feel good again!

Does P90X Really Work?

By Tim Pannell On August 3, 2009 2 Comments

A lot of my friends keep asking me…...does P90X really work? All I can tell them about is my experience.  I can’t guarantee that the P90X workout will work for anyone else given that not everyone else will use it the same way I have.

Not everyone will stick to the schedule.  I would say this though, anyone who truly sticks to the workouts will see results.  I would love to hear from anyone that actually did the workouts and after all was said and done believed that they got zero results.

I don’t believe that that’s even a possibility.  P90X workouts were designed for people that are already in pretty good shape.  I am not one of those somebodies.  In the past 19 years I’ve weighed as little as 185 and as much as 310 lbs.

I’m currently at 268 and have been plateaued there for a few weeks.  I know that some of you might be saying that P90X says it’s designed specifically to avoid “plateauing”.  So you say………….there’s proof that it doesn’t work!

Before you go thinking that it’s P90X that doesn’t work, let me assure you that in this case the “plateauing” was caused by none other than me not working.

We took a family vacation for a week and I lost most if not all of my momentum that week.  I wrote a post earlier about how easy it is to do P90X if you travel.  I should have clarified that post by saying “if you travel by yourself on business trips.”

We were visiting family and I did a lousy job of keeping up with it.  I only did 1 workout that week if I remember correctly and went golfing twice.

I love to golf, but come on, nobody ever got ripped from golfing.  Tiger has a great physique, but we all know that he didn’t get it by golfing.  He trains like a lunatic in the gym.

I have no one to blame but myself for that week, but it definitely took a toll on my momentum.  Thankfully, I got back into the swing of things once we got home.

The other struggle I had that week was what I was eating.  I took in a lot more fatty foods than I had been eating at home and I could really feel the difference.  I was pretty tired and lethargic for most of the week.

The big difference for me at this stage of having done the P90X routines for the last 3 months is that I’ve learned not to beat myself up for the days that I’m less than stellar.  The past is the past, tomorrow is tomorrow.  the only thing I can control, is what I do with my life today.

For many of you that might not sound like a big deal, but let me assure you it is.  In the past I would beat myself up for any missteps, and since my past is loaded with plenty of missteps you can imagine how negative my “self talk” became.

I still have 58 pounds to lose.  The cool thing for me is that I KNOW that I will lose it. The other cool thing for me is that I don’t have to get down to 210 lbs. to enjoy the benefits of P90X training.

I’m already enjoying them even though I’m still overweight.  I am pain free in my joints, especially my knees.  That’s HUGE!!!

I have gained muscle, especially in my arms.  I am noticeably stronger.  My resting heart rate is lower than when I started the program.  How many 268 lb. guys do you know with a resting heart rate of 58 beats a minute?  Not bad, right?

The biggest eye opener for me of how much better shape I’m in was this:

I hadn’t played racquetball in over 3 months because my partner hurt his knee.  Usually after that long of a layoff the first couple of days back on the court are excruciating.

After a couple of long drawn out points, I would be sucking wind so badly I couldn’t breath.  Mike and I played again a few weeks back and I never once was out of breath.

Now some of you might be picturing a couple of old bald fat guys swinging their racquets like Peter Pan.  It’s just 1 bald fat guy….me.  You may have seen guys dogging it on the court, hitting the ball underhanded as they jog to and fro like a couple of “english gentlemen” in  some kind of sick mama’s boy badminton experiment.
That’s not us!  We play hard.  Mike and I both hit the ball over 160 miles an hour and even though I’m big, I can move pretty quickly.  Mike has close to a 48 inch vertical leap and is faster than anyone else I’ve ever played.  He played collegiate volleyball, so diving on the floor to keep balls in play is pretty common stuff for him.

I have to hit absolutely perfect shots to beat him, he gets to everything….it’s infuriating!  No one should be allowed to be that fast.

In any case, there was an obvious difference in my fitness level when we hit the court for the first time in 3 months.  I’m impressed at how much the P90X workouts improved my overall health and  fitness levels over that time period.

I did not do this program like some kind of “uber-robot”.  In the past 3 months I have skipped days, I have done 1/2 the workout on some days.  Some days I’ve done 2 workouts.  I have not been as consistent as I intended to be, and my diet hasn’t always been spectacular, but I’ve experienced plenty of great results from P90X.

P90X really does work!