P90X Core Synergistics – My Abs Are Screaming
© Tim Pannell Photography
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 Workout – Hang In There!
© Tim Pannell Photography
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!
Does P90X Really Work?
Does P90X Really Work? © Tim Pannell Photography
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!
P90X Weight Loss – Get Back On That Bike Dude!
P90X / Biking © Tim Pannell Photography
We just got back from taking my 16 yr. old son to Lacrosse Camp up in Utah and I am anxious to get back in the workout saddle so to speak.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how easy it is to do P90X workouts on the road. That post was aimed more at business travel and staying in hotels. I never really tried doing P90X while visiting friends and family.
Let me just say this, it’s a completely different animal. I struggled with working out this last week. It was hands down the worst week I’ve had since starting out on my program. I feel like I lost an entire week.
I did a lousy job of keeping up with my workouts when we were away. I did a series of P90X shoulders and arms with my wife sometime in the middle of the week and the rest of the time I just kept getting sidetracked with other issues.
I got to play golf with my sister a couple of times and that was fun in spite of me playing the worst I’ve played in at least 5 years. Man did I suck!
I’m starting a new photography blog and that consumed me for most of the week as well. I’m teaching people how to shoot better photos of their kids. The website is just in it’s infancy, but check it out if you get a chance and you’re interested in photography. http://photomommies.com
In any case, I’m home now and I’ll be doing P90X chest and back and riding the bike this morning to get things started up again.
The old me would be beating myself up right now for not having worked out consistently all of last week, even though it was nice to get to see family and spend some time with them.
The new me sees the past as the past and today as the present. I can’t change last week, but I can make good choices today. If you’re struggling with weight issues like I do chances are you can get easily derailed from your workout goals.
It’s all too easy to just throw in the towel and give up when things don’t work the way I hope. This is always a major crossroads in my life. What I do in these situations will ultimately show what I’m made of.
I have a choice to give up completely and wallow in self doubt and pity or I can pick myself up and learn from the past instead of dwelling on it. What can I do better, where can I improve?
I’ve been working out with P90X for the last 2 months and 3 weeks. I haven’t last the amount of weight that I’d hoped for, but I am in much better shape than I was.
I would say that my biggest problem over the previous couple of months is that I haven’t been consistent enough and that is what I will be working on this coming month.
I am guilty of letting off the gas once I made a lot of progress. I have to do a better job of keeping my fitness goals a priority and not put them on the back burner.
I know that ultimately getting my body back into good shape will have a profound effect on every other aspect in my life.
So, for now, I’m going to stop writing and I’m gonna go hop back on my bike for an hour and then I’m dropping my P90X chest and back into my DVD player and I’m gonna sweat my butt off for a while.
P90X Reviews – Weight Loss For Women
P90X for Women © Tim Pannell Photography
We talk about P90X as though it’s only for big ‘ole tough guys. That sells the workout program a little short.
Will P90X work for women? For anyone who has ever done or followed a P90X Workout DVD you already know that there’s always a woman on the program, and they all kick butt.
I know that for many women there is a fear of bulking up too much and looking un-feminine from lifting weights. As with all things in life, it really depends on what your goal is. There are women out there that have created enormous physiques for themselves, to the point where most people find it gross.
P90X is not designed with that in mind. It’s purpose isn’t just about losing weight.
It’s goal is for people to get fit and lean. By building muscle, the body naturally uses more energy, aka calories. As your body adjusts to the workouts and the healthier diet you’ll see your body fat % shrink and your lean muscle mass increase. Your arms and shoulders will have greater definition, legs will get more toned and tummy muscles will tighten.
Take a look at the women on the DVD, they actually represent a variety of different sizes and shapes, but they’re all fit.
My wife usually works out at the gym, but we were on a family trip recently and while we were gone she did some of the P90X workouts with me and really enjoyed them. I really enjoyed working out with her.
We did P90X Shoulders and Arms first, followed by plyometrics. She kicked my butt at plyometrics. I still struggle with this set of exercises because of my knees, but I am getting better and better at it.
We had such a good time doing them together that we’re continuing the mutual workouts at home. She keeps me focused and on track on the days that my attitude isn’t as good as it could be.
P90X training can benefit just about anyone that is trying to get back into shape. I realize that it’s marketed for people that are already in fair to moderate shape, but speaking as a guy that’s still 55 lbs. overweight, it’s been great for me as well.
You can go at your own pace, from moderate to really intense and the DVDs always have someone doing lighter weights and more reps. So, for any women that are considering P90X and unsure about whether or not it’ll be too intense for you, I wouldn’t waste my time worrying about it.
My wife says that the workouts she’s done with me seem to be a bit easier than what she does at the gym. I guess that sounds like P90X heresy, but that’s her experience.
She does however like the workouts and it is nice to be doing them together instead of by myself. So whether your a guy or a girl or a couple, P90X will work for you. Just be sure to check with your doctor before you start if you have any questionable health risks or concerns.
P90X Routine – Why Do I Do It?
P90X Routine © Tim Pannell Photography
OK, I’m still seriously overweight. I’ve been doing pretty well with my eating habits and p90x workout routines. I’m losing weight, I’m adding muscle and burning fat.
Today I’m taking an account of where I’m at compared to where I was just a few short months ago.
It used to be extremely easy to talk myself out of working out. I could find all kinds of excuses.
The biggest excuse was the lack of results. I was notorious for getting down on myself when the weight didn’t just fly off my body after a few days or maybe even weeks of “being good.”
My attitude towards living a healthy lifestyle was only based on hard data, numbers…….results that could be seen or measured with some kind of tool. Well guess who the “tool” really was.
Living and dying by your numbers alone is a fools game. All the right things for all the wrong reasons. I’ve changed my attitude around completely.
I now workout for the sheer enjoyment of it. I feel better, I have a better attitude about my life, I look at things differently. Sure, I still have crappy days, just ask my sister about my golf game yesterday. I was a schmuck! It felt nice to do a little venting though and now I’ve moved past it.
I am no longer willing to let a few less than stellar numbers keep me from working out and eating more healthy foods. These are rewards in and of themselves.
Who cares if I’m still overweight today? I’m more healthy today than I was 2 weeks ago. I’ll be healthier still 2 weeks from today. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
I’ve embraced the healthier lifestyle for it’s own sake. The measurable results will come at their own pace and in their own time. The real benefits happen immediately as I consistently workout and eat better.
I’m celebrating a little bit today. That statement doesn’t mean today what it meant 4 months ago. Then it would mean treating myself to a Jethro Bodean sized bowl of ice cream.
Today it just means I’m consciously being grateful that I’ve finally found the key for me to get back into shape. I am now living for the process.
P90X Review – Kenpo X – I Want My Mommy!
P90X Kenpo X Workout © Tim Pannell Photography
The P90X Kenpo X workout is just plain and simple cardio from hell. Holy crap I am dreadfully out of shape. Every time I start feeling good about the direction I’m heading one of these P90X cardio workouts absolutely kicks my butt.
I have been reduced to a sniveling sissy man. The pre workout stretch is enough for me to start praying for the end of the world. I swear my body isn’t made to contort into so many different directions at the same time.
That being said, it’s a great warmup and the workout is intense to say the least. I really do feel borderline spastic while I do this routine and I’m sure that my wife has to hold back full belly laughs at the site of me.
I did it today with my 11 year old son, who ran screaming from the room in complete desperation to escape Tony Horton’s little shop of P90X Kenpo X horrors. This DVD should apparently be rated PG-13……..sorry buddy.
It never ceases to amaze me how much sweat flies off my body doing these workouts. It just keeps coming and coming.
Kenpo X consists or 3 major components: blocking, kicking and punching. There are extended breaks throughout this workout when you will run in place or do jumping jacks the “X” version of jumping jacks to really get your heart pounding.
Currently I am doing about 1 hour on my recumbent bike before each P90X workout that I do. It really does help get my blood flowing and get me into the right frame of mind.
There are a total of 27 exercises which consist of various combinations of kicks, blocks and punches. It’s a nice change of pace from a lot of the more weight lifting, pull up and push up oriented p90x workouts.
My favorite set of exercises is also the one that I’m the least skilled at – Three direction kicks – ball kick, then side kick, then back kick. I’m sure it’s my extra weight that I’m lugging around that causes me difficulty with this, but I like the challenge.
This isn’t quite as intense as the plyometric or core syergistics workouts, but it runs a close third. Have fun with it and enjoy the small lake of sweat that you’ll leave on the floor when you’re done.
Get your butt off that couch!
P90X Workout Review – Attitude Adjustment – 07/13/09
Beachbody Results © Tim Pannell Photography
Last week was actually not a great week. I got through the 4th of July weekend and actually lost weight. Monday morning I weighed in at 268 lbs. and was feeling fantastic.
The problem shift in attitude happened after I ate a bunch of junk that I’d been avoiding for the previous month or so. My oldest daughter also had a birthday on Wednesday last week and I ate cake and ice cream then as well.
In and of itself, that’s probably not such a big deal, but we had extra ice cream laying around the house….well, not actually laying around the house, but calling out to me from the freezer non stop.
I had some ice cream several days in a row and what I noticed was that I had less and less desire to work out once I started systematically filling my pie hole with a lot of junk.
In full confession mode here…..I’ve always liked ice cream, but I became and addict when my wife worked at Baskin Robbins while we were in college and I got used to eating it everyday.
In fact BR is absolutely responsible for me gaining 25 pounds shortly after Kim and I got married. It was the first time in my life that I ever even had a weight issue.
Now that you know the history, you’ll understand a bit better why this is so frustrating to me. I know better, I know I need to be careful around ice cream. It’s not like my fitness quest is over, far from it. It is a setback though.
Had I continued last week the way I had the previous week, I probably would have lost an additional 2 or 3 pounds. Instead I hung out in limbo for a week.
The interesting thing is the shift in my attitude. Prior to the ice cream binge, I couldn’t wait to get to my workout because it always felt so good. The last several days have been difficult for me to get motivated.
I”m sitting here writing instead of lifting weights and riding the bike. So……that being said, I’m gonna stop writing for the moment and go workout, even if I’m not totally fired up about it. I’ll be back in an hour and a half……………..
It’s 2 hours later and I’m feeling a lot better. I rode the bike for 55 minutes and I upped it’s intensity from 3 to 4. Then I did an hour of P90X Shoulders & Arms even though I was scheduled to do Back & Chest.
My arms felt weak and wimpy so I decided to start the week with my favorite set of exercises. I’m really glad I worked through my bad attitude and just did my workout. My body feels great, my arms are nice and tingly and I have a great “fitness” buzz on. My mind is clear now and I’m ready to tackle the week.
I know that there are people out there that once they commit to something they seem to never stumble, but when it comes to working out or eating a certain way, I’m not one of them. I’m going to have a few “down days”.
I’m not making excuses here…….I plan on doing better, but I’m not going to beat myself up for having a set back. That won’t help me reach my ultimate goal. So I’m gonna sit down and take a good long look at what I did last week and how it effected my overall plan and then I will learn from it.
All I can do today is start back on course and make a change for the better. I put in a good 2 hour workout and I feel great! That’s success in my book. The past is now in my past. I can actually do something in the present to have a positive effect on my future.
If you’ve struggled or are currently struggling with your weight, look at the past only to learn from it and then make a plan and stick to it.
Hang in there and don’t let the little or even the big setbacks get you down on yourself. Just keep moving forward and before you know it you’ll be hitting your fitness goals and maybe even moving above and beyond your health related goals.
Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from claiming what’s rightfully yours. It’s your body, it’s your health…..own it for crying out loud!
If I can get into shape, then anyone can. If you’re on the fence, what are you waiting for. There will never be a better time to start than right now. Try the p90x workouts, try a gym membership, get a personal trainer, whatever works or will work for you. Make a choice and follow it up with a bigtime commitment!
If you are waiting for an attitude adjustment to start working out, flip it around and workout so you get the attitude adjustment you want. Just close your eyes and bull your way through it if you have to, but I can guarantee you’ll feel better once you’ve done it.
The times you feel least like working out are probably the most important times to actually get your butt off the couch and start moving.
Special thanks to condron.us for promoting the Fatboy Fitness Blog, we appreciate it!
P90X Reviews – Can I Do P90X If I Travel a Lot?
Travel © Tim Pannell Photography
I get a lot of people contacting me, wondering if P90X will work for them if they travel frequently for business and find themselves on the road.
This is an easy question for me to answer since I travel quite often for my commercial photography business. In the last couple of years, I’ve been to Africa, Spain, France, Greece, Costa Rica, Vancouver, Whistler, London, Norway and Prague. I love all those frequent flyer miles!
P90X workouts are easily adaptable for someone that finds themselves on the road. Assuming you have a laptop to watch your P90X routines on or a dvd player in your hotel room, the only other thing you need is a set of the B-Line Resistance Bands and towels to keep the great big pools of sweat from ruining the hotel room floor carpet.
They’re super light weight and can fit anywhere in your luggage without really making a dent on your weight limit on any of the airlines. Those excess baggage fees have become ridiculous lately.
The workouts are a little different and take a little bit of effort to get used to when compared to using dumbbells and the pull up bar. But you’d have to be a completely uncoordinated weenie to not be able to pull this off. If that is the case, you have bigger problems than your weight or lack of fitness. It does mix things up from the norm though and that helps with muscle confusion.
I like being able to workout in my own hotel room instead of heading down to the hotel gym and fighting over the small amount of equipment usually available.
All in all, P90X travels well and easily. Anyone concerned about the effectiveness of the training when on the road, has no need to be. P90X works great whether you’re at home or at a hotel in the latin quarter of Paris with a view of Notre Dame.
P90X Review – Shoulders & Arms
P90X Shoulders & Arms © Tim Pannell Photography
My plan is to review each of the 12 P90X workouts over the next couple of weeks. One a day as I do each of them. When I’m finished you’ll have 12 P90X reviews to pick from to decide where you want to start your workout routine.
Out of all 12 of the P90X workouts, P90X Shoulders and Arms is my absolute favorite. I have to admit right up front that I will be biased with this review.
It starts out basically the same way all the others do, with a typical Tony Horton 10 -12 minute warmup with jumping jacks and running in place, “riding the pony”, as well as some good neck stretches with “head rolls” and arm circles that really get in there and burn your shoulders.
Then it’s off to the races. You jump right in with alternating shoulder presses to start working your shoulders. From there you do “in and out” bicep curls, these are my favorites because when you’re finished your biceps are completely on fire.
You start working on your triceps next with two arm tricep kickbacks which is a great exercise to explode your triceps.
After these 3 exercises you go back to the beginning and start the process all over again. This repeats itself throughout the entire DVD. Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps and repeat.
Each set has a different set of 3 exercises that works those specific muscles in that specific order. At the end of each set Tony does 30 seconds of ballistic stretching to let you catch your breath.
You’ll upright swimmer presses, static arm curls, chair dips, upright rows, hammer curls and a list of other classic weightlifting exercises.
By the time the DVD is over you will have done 2 complete sets of 5 different exercises for each of the targeted areas and you will be fried, but in a good way.
I love how this workout makes my arms feel. By the end of this P90X DVD, my arms are so pumped up it feels amazing. It’s my favorite way to start my day now and that’s pretty amazing in it’s own right since just a few short months ago my morning routine consisted of sitting on the couch to watch ESPN or the news.
In 2 months I added an inch of muscle to my arms……pretty cool!
