Before you buy P90X
Take the fit test http://www.beachbody.com/text/products/programs/p90x/p90xFitTest_Rev010809.pdf
If you don’t pass the fit test and are not quite ready, check out P90, the predecessor to P90X or Slim In 6 from fitness expert Debbie Siebers or Power Half Hour with Tony Horton on the BeachBody site. I have used both Slim in 6 and Power Half Hour in the past with success. I did Slim in 6 for three weeks before in order to "ramp up". I took the P90X fit test and I passed it. Slim in 6 is more non-weight oriented and uses resistance bands. In Power Half Hour you use dumbbells as well as free standing aerobic moves for some workouts.
What else you need to buy
On the BeachBody P90X site they say you need an entire set of dumbbells. Not totally true. If you are on a budget and cannot afford the quick change dumbbells or an entire dumbbell set that you can purchase from the BeachBody website, you can go to a sporting goods store and buy a set of standard free weight dumbbell handles for about $22. You can also buy various standard weight plates at your local store for about a $1 a pound on average. For starters, I would get 8 - 5lb plates and 8 - 2.5 lb plates. I also use 4 - 1 ¼ lb plates. This allows a smaller increment in weights. An investment of less than $100 should get you the dumbbell set that you need to start with. Much cheaper than a set of fixed dumbbells or the dial-a-weight type! You can then add other dumbbell handles and more weights as you think you need them. More handle sets are better for switching weights faster. You’ll understand once you go through some of the exercises.
It is well known that you get the best strength training results from using free weights, but I would also invest in a set of resistance bands. You can use these in lieu of a pull up bar. Or if you have a pull up bar, you can use them after you fail out on your maximum pull ups to push your muscles harder and maximize your results. Personally, I have the Extreme set (green, blue, black) and the next level down (pink, orange, red). They work well. Resistance bands are also available on the BeachBody web site.
If you don’t own a watch with a heart rate monitor, you will most likely want to invest in one. I didn’t buy the one from their web site, way too expensive. I searched on line though and found a wireless one at a health discount site for about half the price. It cost me about $40. You’ll want to keep an eye on your heart rate while working out. If you get out of your ideal heart rate zone, you will not be burning as much fat calories. As of writing this, I’m 44 years old. So my work out heart rate zone is appx. 130 to 165. If I go over my rate, I pause the workout for a minute and let my rate go down. I had to pause quite a bit in the first couple of weeks.
Diet
I don’t follow the P90X menu exactly, but I do stick closely to the food groups and calorie limit for my weight group. I started at 144 pounds, making my daily target calorie count of 1800. As long as you stick close to the plan and eat a healthy diet, you'll lose weight along with doing the exercises. I averaged a pound a week!
Supplements
I do use a protein supplement, but not use the one on the Beachbody web site. I buy Matrix 2.0. It is $20 for a 32 serving tub with 23gms of protein per serving. A good buy! They also recommend you use a recovery drink for after workouts. I didn’t at first, but during the first couple of weeks I started feeling run down about ¾ of the way through the week. I started to use Power Paks which I found a local vitamin store which have basically the same ingredients of the P90X Results and Recovery drink except without the protein. You can get that from the Matrix 2.0. After every workout I immediately drink a Power Pak drink followed by a Matrix 2.0 protein shake. Even if you don't use a recovery drink of some sort, you should drink plenty of water!
Every morning I take a Centrum Multi-Vitamin plus a Super B-Complex. This gets you fairly close to the P90X Power Pack vitamins and they are a heck of a lot cheaper. I personally also used the Beachbody Slimming formula in the first month. Supposedly, it increases your metabolism and helps lose up to 33% more weight.
I also add 1 protein bar to my diet, at least one a day. The Myoplex Lite bar which only has 190 calories, but it has about 17grams of protein is the one I use.
The Workouts
Also in the Excel workbook is the P90X workout schedule on the first tab. I didn't include specific exercises because that would not quite be fair to BeachBody.com :) I'll describe each of them though.
There are 12 different workouts in all. A plus about the program is they show you variants on the exercises to make them easier or harder if you can't handle them. I use a mix of them.
1. Chest and Back (about 60 min)- Mostly a mix of a variety of push ups and LOTS of pull ups. If you don't have a pull up bar, get the resistance bands on their web site. They work just as well if you have a place to hang them. You can also buy an attachment to hang them from a door.
2. Plyometrics (about 60 min) - this is by far the hardest of the workouts. If you survive this the first time, you know you can survive the program. It is basically a lot of jumping, mostly cardio work. They do offer low impact alternatives on some moves. If you’re not used to it, you cannot walk very well for the next two days!
3. Shoulders and Arms (about 60 min) - Lots of work with the dumbbells here, shoulder presses, curls, dips, etc.
4. Yoga X (90 min) - HAH! don't let the name fool you. I've done some yoga on previous Beachbody programs and thought this was going to be a breeze. Some intense yoga movements for the first 45 minutes then they make you do balance moves. At the end of the workout, every inch of my clothes is soaking wet with sweat!
5. Legs and Back (about 60 min) - Lots of pull ups again and some plyometric movements. Not quite as intense as some of the workouts though, but it is still difficult especially if you choose to use weights on the lunge moves.
6. Kenpo X (about 60min) - Mainly a cardio workout using Kenpo Karate moves and jumping jacks, etc. This is the most fun work out in my opinion yet it still gets your heart pumping for sure.
7. X Stretch (about 60 min) - Yes, 60 min of stretching. But you feel so darn good when it is over after stressing your body for 6 straight days.
8. Core Synergistics (about 60 min) - very intense. It is a mix of plyometrics, ab work, kenpo, cardio, etc. using lunges, pushups, squats, etc Basically working your whole core body muscles.
9. Chest , triceps, shoulders (about 60 min) - a mix of dumbbell work, pushups, etc.
10. Back and Biceps (about 60 min) - lots of weight work doing curls and presses.
11. Cardio X - (about 45 min) - mix of various types of cardio using kempo, core synergistics, plyometrics, etc.
12. Ab Ripper X (15 min)- a nasty all ab workout that lasts for about 15 minutes. I cannot make it through all of the exercises yet! Most intense ab workout I have ever done. This comes at the end of many of the workouts, usually every other day unless it is a recovery week in which you focus more on cardio.
Maximizing the workouts
There are 3 different ways you can follow the program. The “Regular” way, “Doubles”, or the Lean program. The Doubles program is the Regular except in months 2 and 3, you do an extra cardio workout in the mornings every other day to burn more calories. The Lean program focuses more on losing weight than gaining muscle. The doubles is kind of mix of the Regular and Lean.
I personally am following the “Doubles” program to burn some extra calories and build muscle. The more muscle you build, the faster you will burn fat. When using weights I go for 8-10 reps which builds more muscle. The 8th rep should start to get hard, while straining on the 9th, and struggling on the 10th. If you can do over 10, then the next time you MUST add weight. If you don’t, you are not pushing your muscles hard enough. That is why it is important to write this stuff down. You can download the worksheets from the P90X web site for tracking your progress. 12 to 15 reps is more for burning calories and building lean muscle.
You may feel like you’ve been run over by a truck on some days especially the first couple of weeks. But on light days, you can feel that you are stronger and more energetic than you were before. Give it a try. It "hurts so good" :)
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