Losing weight with P90X

Posts Tagged ‘P90X workout’

P90X Alternative

By Tim Pannell On March 6, 2010 No Comments

Yesterday we woke up to 12 inches of snow and that was just enough to give me a new P90X alternative.

With shovel in hand I shoveled six driveways and a couple hundred yards of sidewalks.

After shoveling I did a series of photographs for my stock agency of my nieces, nephew and son playing in the snow

I actually like shoveling snow….maybe proof of my low I.Q.

I remember watching my mom shovel snow when I was a kid and throwing snowballs at the big picture window my sisters and I would watch her through.

I was really excited once I got old enough to go out and shovel and through snowballs at the big window while my sisters watched me shovel…….a winter right of passage of sorts.

We’ve lived in Arizona for 22 years before moving up here to Utah so I’ve avoided snow shoveling for almost half my life.

I still enjoy it.  It’s actually a great workout.

There were several people on the block with snow blowers, but they didn’t finish their driveways any faster than it took me doing it “manually.”

How many things are sold to us in order to make our lives easier?

Save time, save energy, save effort etc.

Many of these things might make life easier, but the real question is…….do they make our lives better.

We’ve sought out ease of living at the expense of our health in many cases.

We use our lungs less, we use our legs less, we use our backs less, we use our muscles less.

We get weaker and more and more out of shape as we seek a life of ease.

In the long run, so many of these things we do to make our lives easier actually make it worse as we lose more and more of our physical abilities.

I have no plans to buy a snow blower…..on this one….I’ll stick to the old fashioned way of doing things.

Heaven knows I can use the workout.  I spent 2 hours yesterday morning shoveling snow.  It felt great.

The really cool thing though is this……because I’ve been doing P90X consistently over the last 2 months, my back isn’t sore at all today.

No pain, no soreness, no side effects from 2 hours of shoveling……not bad.

Doing the P90X Legs and Back workout is probably responsible for my lack of pain.

P90X does such a good job of exercising all areas and muscle groups in your body that there are very few if any that don’t get worked out, so when you do something physical that is different from your normal routine you don’t end up paying the price of a super sore rarely used muscle group.

I know that in the past, even as a young kid that was in great shape….and I was.  I was always sore the day after shoveling our super long driveway.

Today I’m pain free……cool!

So what if I didn’t end up doing any P90X workout yesterday……shoveling snow for 2 hours sure seemed to be a great P90X alternative for just one day.

P90X Review – How Plyometrics Kicked My Butt

By Tim Pannell On February 2, 2010 3 Comments

Here I am, 1 day shy of 3 weeks into the P90X workout routine.

Today, Kim, Melanie and I did P90X Plyometrics and it absolutely kicked my butt.

My legs burned bigtime during this workout.

I have to be honest.  Most of the P90X workouts have numerous exercises that I enjoy and look forward to.

This one does not until the very end when it mimics baseball pitching, basketball shooting and football drills.

I have spent a lot of time over the last year riding a recumbent bike, but that did not prepare me for this workout.

This was the first time I did Plyometrics because of my left knee missing close to 80% of its cartilage.

I managed to do all of the exercises, when I got overly exhausted I would slow down the pace.  THe only exercise that I could not do was “hot foot.”

Instead of jumping on just one foot at a time I had to use both feet to stabilize my left knee.

This workout has a lot of aerobic emphasis on it and left me out of breath more than almost all the other P90X workouts.

So far, Plyometrics is my least favorite of the P90X series.  It’s the one disc where my lack of fitness is extremely self evident.

There are a number of exercises on the Plyometrics dvd that leave me feeling a little spastic and uncoordinated.

That’s not a bad thing, it just shows my weaknesses in a major way.

From this point on I will be doing this workout routinely in order to work on those weaknesses that it exposed today.

If you try this one, make sure you were well rested and hydrated.

There are good examples on the dvd showing how to do these workouts ranging from high to low intensity.

One of the trainers on the dvd has a prosthetic leg which ensured that I wouldn’t belly ache about my knee.

It was impressive to see this guy working out hard and keeping up.

Inspirational to say the least.

Here’s my review of the P90X Plyometrics disc – I am more spent and tires after doing this workout than any of the other 11 except maybe ab ripper X.

It’s a great workout that will leave you exhausted if you watch your form and do the exercises right.

P90X Reviews – Try the Best

By Tim Pannell On February 1, 2010 No Comments

OK, so you typed “P90X Reviews” into google because you’re curious about what other people’s experiences with P90X might be.

If you’ve tried a bunch of other workouts and are ready to try the best…….read on.

Here’s my review as of today – the P90X workout is the best workout you can buy for the money.

I became a Beachbody coach back in May of last year.  I’ve had good months and bad months since that time.

Truth be told, I had a lot of distractions last year that I used as excuses to keep me from exercising consistently.

I’ve nevertheless seen some decent results.

At my worst, I weighed in at 310 lbs. – HOLY CRAP!!!!!!

Right now I’m bouncing between 264 and 270.

My goal last year was to get down to 210lbs. with about 10% body fat.

Obviously, I didn’t reach my goal.

I am not going to get all upset about that though.

There has been more than enough good results to build upon.

We sold our house in Arizona early in December and moved out on the 29th of December.

We were homeless for a couple of weeks there because we couldn’t move into our new place until after the 9th of January.

I did a lot of soul searching during that time to try and figure out what worked for me and what didn’t.

One of my biggest mistakes was not making myself accountable to somebody on a daily basis.

There are workout buddies available on the WOWY supergym on the Beachbody site.

These are other people who are using P90X and you can share ideas and success stories with them online.

This time around I decided I wanted to find some workout partners and use that as an incentive to “bring it” everyday.

My wife and my sister in law agreed to help me out and we started working out together over 2 1/2 weeks ago.

We’ve taken 3 days off since we started.

It’s been so much easier to stay consistent with the P90X program since I’ve been working out with them.

In the last 2 1/2 weeks my weight has fluctuated between 264 and 270.

I’ve been eating pretty well.  I still need to cut down on some of the snacking I’ve done on crap that is less than healthy.

I’ve added 5 pounds to each and every one of my dumbbell exercises.

I’m doing twice as many pushups as I used to.  I can now do 20 without being completely spent.

My arms are definitely more solid and my core is tighter than it was when we started back in January.

I’m stronger, fitter and in a better frame of mind.

My P90X review is as follows:  P90X is the best series of workout DVD’s I’ve ever done.

Don’t just take my word for it.  There are tens of thousands of people that are doing P90X and experiencing great resutls.

The only thing keeping me from reaching my fitness goals has been my lack of consistency……..and it looks like I found a solution for that.

If you’re thinking about trying P90X………….just go ahead and jump right in.  You can BUY P90X here if you’d like.

I wish you all the best and will be happy to answer any questions any of you reading this blog might have.

Have an amazing day!

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 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 – 2010 Healthy Lifestyle Commitment

By Tim Pannell On January 11, 2010 No Comments

Yikes!  I’ve been away for far too long.

I started doing P90X in 2009.  I love P90X.  It has helped me greatly.  My only problem with the P90X workouts was really just a problem with me.

I struggled most of the year with being consistent.  I had typical ups and downs.  It seemed as though every time I got close to following the P90X routine consistently something would come along and knock me off track.

By the end of summer I thought I got a handle on life and then autumn came along.

It was a crazy fall season for our family and many things in our lives were put on hold for a while.

We put our house in Arizona on the market in September.  We had as many as 24 showings a week.

We sold it in December and had to move out on the 28th, just 3 days after Christmas.

We had to put our almost 15 year old Dalmation”Sammi” to sleep on the 29th.

One of my dearest friends in the world passed away on the 31st…………I’m still in disbelief.

We were homeless nomads for 2 weeks until we were able to move into our new house in Utah on the 9th of January.

Thank you to everyone who helped put us up in their homes before the moving truck got here with all our junk.

We are in the new house…..finally……there are still lots of boxes to unpack, but for the most part, we are in.

Now it’s time to get back into shape and leave behind old habits and attitudes that have not served me well over the years.

New Year’s resolutions always seemed hollow to me prior to this year.  This year is different.

My life in 2010 compared to my life in 2009 has changed in so many ways.

The routines of 2009 and prior years are over.  We live in a different home, in a different neighborhood, in a different state.  We have different neighbors and will be making new friends.

The kids are all in different schools, we all are wearing different wardrobe…….we are missing our shorts and flip flops bigtime at the moment.

So…..the beginning of 2010 really is all new and fresh for us.

This is the perfect time for me to create a new routine, a healthier routine.

I made quite a few healthier choices in 2009.  I did better in a lot of ways.  2010 will be about becoming more focused and more consistent.

P90X helped stop my slide into more and more unhealthy living.  I had hit bottom and P90X helped me start bouncing back from that.

I will eat healthier meals 5 times a day and will work out at least 5 days a week.  I will make these things habits that will become as natural to me as breathing.

I want to be able to enjoy life more and make the most of the time I have left with my family and friends.

I have had several years in my life that provided turning points…..forks in the road…..opportunities to shrink or to grow…..move forward or fall back.

I’ve always chosen to grow and move forward.  2010 has provided me with another fork in the road and I am now choosing to look and move forward today.

I’ve been sick as a dog for almost 2 weeks now, but I don’t care.  My home gym is set up, my weights are out, my TV and DVD player are all set up, the recumbent bike is ready to go…….no excuses…..even if I’m hacking up a lung with this stupid unending cough.

Let my quest for good health in 2010 officially begin right now.

So………..I’m off to ride the bike for 30 minutes and pop in a P90X DVD.

Where Should I buy P90X?

By Tim Pannell On November 15, 2009 1 Comment

Maybe  you’re wondering where you should buy P90X.  Well, here’s my two cents, I’d recommend buying it directly from the Official Team Beachbody Store. Beachbody is the company that makes the P90X program, and they actually offer a 90 day, 100% money back guarantee — if you’re not completely satisfied, simply return it within 90 days for a complete refund of the purchase price (minus s&h). They will even let you keep the P90X Nutrition Plan and Ab Ripper X workout DVD as free gifts.

Here’s another thing to think about -  As with a lot of other things you can buy on the internet these days there are pirated versions of P90X floating around which are created illegally and being sold.  You might think you’re saving a couple of bucks, but you won’t get the amazing support system that Team Beachbody provides, the return policy or access to any of the coaches and workout buddies.  The quality of the pirated DVD’s is also subpar.  So, protect yourself from fraud and be on the safe side, make sure that you buy P90X directly from the Beachbody Website.

Step 1: Click Here to visit the official Beachbody website (it will open in a new window).

Step 2: Go down to the bottom of the page and click “Add to Cart”.

Step 3: Other product categories are listed in the top left corner that can enhance your P90x experience.

Some of the items I would recommend are:

1. The P90X Chin Up Bar
2. Push-Up Stands
3. Shakeology
4. Heart Rate Monitor
5. Yoga Mat
6. Manduka Plyometrics Mat
7. Yoga Blocks
8. Resistance Bands

All of the above items can be ordered directly from Beachbody at the same time as your P90X order is placed and they’ll ship together. Some of those items are optional, but highly recommended if you want to get the best results from this program.

Step 4: Once you’ve added all the items you want to order from Beachbody to your cart, click the “Checkout” button near the top right portion of your screen add your credit card info and your shipping address and you’re done.

Enjoy your P90X DVD’s.  It’s an amazing workout.

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!

P90X Review – Kenpo X – I Want My Mommy!

By Tim Pannell On July 14, 2009 No Comments

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 Reviews – Can I Do P90X If I Travel a Lot?

By Tim Pannell On July 10, 2009 1 Comment

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.