P90X?

[MQW]

Please, Please, Please reference my recent post on the "Cross-Fit" Enos Forum and then re-think P90X; everyone needs good supervision when doing anything new when it comes to functional fitness training.

Who's done it? How did it work out for you? Worth the cost of the program itself and the equipment?

[Chills1994]

... However, on any given day I can still bench 250.....

then spanky wrote:

I'd venture to say that 250 is "impressive." Partially because my 1RM is 185.

Okay, dumb....DUMB question... because I never really worked with free weights, how do you get to either the 250 figure or the 185 number?

does that include the weight of the bar too?

I think one of my local YMCA's has a Smith machine, so you can't just like drop the bar on your head or throat.

they also have the regular benches where you could drop the bar straight onto your ribs. IIRC, the big plates were 45 pounds each, which always left me scratching my head: why didn't they just make them 50 pounds each?

back when I used to work out at another Y, I used their Nautilus machines. They had two of each machine, a light one and a heavy one. It became a little pet peeve of mine...invariably, a woman would get on the heavy vertical chest (press?) machine, and have it set so that at most she was lifting two plates. If I sat in the light machine and put the pin at the bottom of the stack...I could still be there doing presses.

It was just kind of aggravating...that's all.

I keep telling myself that I am going to do this:

http://www.lungusa.org/pledge-events/mo/st-louis-climb-fy12/

[CMV]

... However, on any given day I can still bench 250.....

then spanky wrote:

I'd venture to say that 250 is "impressive." Partially because my 1RM is 185.

Okay, dumb....DUMB question... because I never really worked with free weights, how do you get to either the 250 figure or the 185 number?

does that include the weight of the bar too?

I think one of my local YMCA's has a Smith machine, so you can't just like drop the bar on your head or throat.

they also have the regular benches where you could drop the bar straight onto your ribs. IIRC, the big plates were 45 pounds each, which always left me scratching my head: why didn't they just make them 50 pounds each?

back when I used to work out at another Y, I used their Nautilus machines. They had two of each machine, a light one and a heavy one. It became a little pet peeve of mine...invariably, a woman would get on the heavy vertical chest (press?) machine, and have it set so that at most she was lifting two plates. If I sat in the light machine and put the pin at the bottom of the stack...I could still be there doing presses.

It was just kind of aggravating...that's all.

I keep telling myself that I am going to do this:

http://www.lungusa.org/pledge-events/mo/st-louis-climb-fy12/

"Typical" free weight bench press bar weighs 45 lbs. I am not sure why the plates are 45lbs...always have been though. So 185 lbs is the bar with one 45 and one 25 on each end and 250 is two 45s, a 10 and a 2 1/2 plate one each end, for example. On a Smith machine, the bar is counter weighted so most people count it as 0.

[spanky]

double tap

Edited December 12, 2011 by spanky

[spanky]

... However, on any given day I can still bench 250.....

then spanky wrote:

I'd venture to say that 250 is "impressive." Partially because my 1RM is 185.

Okay, dumb....DUMB question... because I never really worked with free weights, how do you get to either the 250 figure or the 185 number?

does that include the weight of the bar too?

I think one of my local YMCA's has a Smith machine, so you can't just like drop the bar on your head or throat.

they also have the regular benches where you could drop the bar straight onto your ribs. IIRC, the big plates were 45 pounds each, which always left me scratching my head: why didn't they just make them 50 pounds each?

back when I used to work out at another Y, I used their Nautilus machines. They had two of each machine, a light one and a heavy one. It became a little pet peeve of mine...invariably, a woman would get on the heavy vertical chest (press?) machine, and have it set so that at most she was lifting two plates. If I sat in the light machine and put the pin at the bottom of the stack...I could still be there doing presses.

It was just kind of aggravating...that's all.

I keep telling myself that I am going to do this:

http://www.lungusa.org/pledge-events/mo/st-louis-climb-fy12/

If you are using free weights then yes, you use the weight of the bar. On the smith I gather you are only using the plates.

185 is 45 bar plus 2 45 plates plus 2 25 plates

eta: i should have read cmvs response as he answered your question perfectly.

[Paul Santiago]

OK. Well here goes... I looked into Crossfit, but with my work and commute schedule, none of the gyms around me have hours I can use.

Day 1 of P90x today.

[Corey]

OK. Well here goes... I looked into Crossfit, but with my work and commute schedule, none of the gyms around me have hours I can use.

Day 1 of P90x today.

Anything is better than 12oz curls on the couch! It will be difficult at first, but stick with it!!

[RangerTrace]

Good for you Paul. Give it a chance and keep up the good work!!

[brasshole]

i liked that there was not an expencive piece of equiptment involved in p90. plus a cowoker burned the cd from a friend so it was free. the ab ripper can be a real ass kicker. after a few weeks i was pretty tired of tony though. a ballanced diet, "i highly recomend it". (p90 inside joke)

[Simon]

I have p90x sitting on my desk for 3 months still in the box.

Havnt noticed any difference yet

[Lee B]

I bought this a couple years ago and have only read the diet book. Someday, I'll get around to it; but obviously isn't a priority.

[NicVerAZ]

I bought this a couple years ago and have only read the diet book. Someday, I'll get around to it; but obviously isn't a priority.

Ok, I have to say I am on week 3 and I thought this would be somewhat easy, especially that "gay" Yoga thing.

It actually beat the crud out of me. I am at the point where all that is now getting a lot easier and I am starting to make progress and see the difference. Still can't do a darn pullup, but that will come.

I am glad I started it. I had done the gym thing and plateaued from doing the same old thing: push same weights, talk with people, watch TV, pull same weights, same cardio crap, etc...

My goal is not to have a 6-pack and look good in the mirror, it's about feeling better and stay around my kids longer.

As for the yoga? Well, I hope nobody walks on me when I am doing it and take a photo, but surprisingly I feel that this is a very beneficial type of exercise. And I am still attracted to women.

I start seeing results in my shooting, as I feel I can concentrate more and running between stations is easier.

[Paul Santiago]

I bought this a couple years ago and have only read the diet book. Someday, I'll get around to it; but obviously isn't a priority.

Ok, I have to say I am on week 3 and I thought this would be somewhat easy, especially that "gay" Yoga thing.

It actually beat the crud out of me. I am at the point where all that is now getting a lot easier and I am starting to make progress and see the difference. Still can't do a darn pullup, but that will come.

I am glad I started it. I had done the gym thing and plateaued from doing the same old thing: push same weights, talk with people, watch TV, pull same weights, same cardio crap, etc...

My goal is not to have a 6-pack and look good in the mirror, it's about feeling better and stay around my kids longer.

As for the yoga? Well, I hope nobody walks on me when I am doing it and take a photo, but surprisingly I feel that this is a very beneficial type of exercise. And I am still attracted to women.

I start seeing results in my shooting, as I feel I can concentrate more and running between stations is easier.

I still can't do a pullup either. I sweat more doing the yoga than any of the other workouts. I just hate that it's a 90 minute workout. I haven't lost much weight, but I can tell my strength and flexibility have increased. I had to restart after week 3. I felt I missed too many workouts trying to establish a schedule.

[NicVerAZ]

I bought this a couple years ago and have only read the diet book. Someday, I'll get around to it; but obviously isn't a priority.

Ok, I have to say I am on week 3 and I thought this would be somewhat easy, especially that "gay" Yoga thing.

It actually beat the crud out of me. I am at the point where all that is now getting a lot easier and I am starting to make progress and see the difference. Still can't do a darn pullup, but that will come.

I am glad I started it. I had done the gym thing and plateaued from doing the same old thing: push same weights, talk with people, watch TV, pull same weights, same cardio crap, etc...

My goal is not to have a 6-pack and look good in the mirror, it's about feeling better and stay around my kids longer.

As for the yoga? Well, I hope nobody walks on me when I am doing it and take a photo, but surprisingly I feel that this is a very beneficial type of exercise. And I am still attracted to women.

I start seeing results in my shooting, as I feel I can concentrate more and running between stations is easier.

I still can't do a pullup either. I sweat more doing the yoga than any of the other workouts. I just hate that it's a 90 minute workout. I haven't lost much weight, but I can tell my strength and flexibility have increased. I had to restart after week 3. I felt I missed too many workouts trying to establish a schedule.

You are not supposed to lose weight in the first month, quite the contrary, unless you are morbidly obese. If you're just the average dude with a belly, you will lose that fat as you are gaining muscle mass doing all these exercises. Since muscle is denser than fat, you look like you're losing weight while the scale says something else.

What matters is how you are feeling, if your clothes start sagging, if old clothes you used to be able to wear start fitting again, etc...

But yes, yoga is surprisingly hard the very first time and as you go it becomes easier and you feel some sort of inner strength, it's a bit like prayer or meditation, your mind goes to a different place.

It also has some really good static core and balance exercises.

It is definitely not a chick thing.

Edited April 27, 2012 by NicVerAZ

[Darqnezz]

I'm starting tomorrow. I really need to get back into shape. I'm taking it slow & will post updates.

[NicVerAZ]

I'm starting tomorrow. I really need to get back into shape. I'm taking it slow & will post updates.

You have 3 friends: the pause button, common sense and Advil.

[KyroWebs]

Plyo days were my worst enemy....especially at first! After a few weeks everything gets a bit easier. My only gripe is the ~90 min/day requirement. It's not so bad at first, but it quickly started to get old (for me at least) Good luck with it

[NicVerAZ]

Plyo days were my worst enemy....especially at first! After a few weeks everything gets a bit easier. My only gripe is the ~90 min/day requirement. It's not so bad at first, but it quickly started to get old (for me at least) Good luck with it

The thing is none of this was hard when I was in my early twenties, since I played rugby for a long time and then served my country.

But in 20 years I had not done any pushups, except once in a while to prove I could still do them. Somehow I was too obsessed with bench presses and the elliptical (I can't run, bad back). I realized not long ago I could not do one pullup anymore. Shame.

There are tons of core exercises. Especially Yoga X. It gets brutal. My respect for yoga has gone x100.

I'd say it's a good routine for middle aged folks with an athletic background, to get back into shape.

If you're in horrible shape, you need to start lean and be very patient.

[Paul Santiago]

If you're in horrible shape, you need to start lean and be very patient.

Spot on!

ARX is a killer if you can't do a full sit up.

Abs 100 or abs 200 is a good starting place.

I can almost do a pull up now. --- lots of weight to pull up.. push ups have increased a LOT. I maintain that Yoga should be outlawed as cruel and unusual punishment.

[NicVerAZ]

Day 60, going to do the photos tonight but as I was looking at my Day 0 and Day 30 photos, I could not believe this is me one month and two monthes ago.

I am becoming better and better at this thing and ARX is less and less of an issue for me. Yoga X still gives me difficulties, but that's because I now concentrate on an even better form than when I started. I only touch the floor with my extremities when doing upward dog, for instance, and I go farther and lower on my lounges. I now start looking for real yoga classes as I want a teacher to look at my poses and correct me and it seems that this type of Vanyasa yoga is actually quite advanced.

As for the weight loss? Relatively small, around 5 lbs, probably because of muscle gain offsetting overall fat loss.

This is not a weight loss program, this is a get back into shape program. It does get results if you really go at it and do not lose faith in yourself.

Edited June 7, 2012 by NicVerAZ

[RussellM]

i did one round a few years ago. It really works well if you can do it everyday and follow the diet. I plan to do it again this winter.

[AlexOsensei]

Hello, I am in 3th week of p90x,

today I did kempo..

I like very much, I can feel the difference between working with weight and free.

I am 39, 25 year self defence and karate instructor, PT in heavy duty and nutrition.

AFter this period I had to stop for marriage and the born of my princess (daughter)

but now I am restarting and pumping hard!

but all to be a better shooter!

[monicataliani]

It was interesting reading this! I am into running, biking (road and mountain) hiking, kayaking, tae kwon do, you name it... I really love outdoor activities but have been stuck inside due to the cold this winter. I have been dabbling in P90X (doing it on days it is just too cold to go outside) and have gotten so motivated by it that I started getting up at 5am to do it before work. I look forward to the workout every day.

[monicataliani]

Plyo days were my worst enemy....especially at first! After a few weeks everything gets a bit easier. My only gripe is the ~90 min/day requirement. It's not so bad at first, but it quickly started to get old (for me at least) Good luck with it

I love love love the plyo section!!! It is my favorite. I don't do 90 min every day. I am way too busy between work, dry fire, and a dog. Sometimes i will just do a half hour of it then go walk the dog. I pick and choose what I want to do. I know it isn't keeping with the program, but like dry fire, some is better than none. I had avoided the program in the past because of the time required. Now I just make it work for me.

[mshotwell]

I like it, and have done they cycle 2x. The hardest part for me is dieting. 3 weeks ago I started "The Shred" plan, it's really working for me. I've lost 13 lbs and finally made it below 200. Now I'm mixing in running, when my legs need a rest I grab a P90X DVD. The other thing I add is a heavy bag. I use the striking reps from Kempo x on it. Nothing else it's big stress reliever. When it warms up I'll be on the bike most of the time.

I would try crossfit there no gyms close to me.

Edited February 26, 2013 by mshotwell