haha...i joined the navy...which in turn "motivates" people to get into shape.

 

I just started p90x on Monday, but did a few previews of the workout two weeks prior so there were no surprises...

 

I'm going to get started one day, when my life is more regular. I keep having things come up on week nights, and that my time to get this stuff done.

Personally, I feel we eat WAY too many carbs. Way, way to many. Before man started growing and baking ****, we didn't eat many carbs at all. We have corn in nearly everything we eat.

Sugar is the culprit for much of the ailments we face these days. Don't need diabetes to have blood sugar **** up other parts of your body.

 

The Western Diet sucks. We eat too many "food-like" products and often too much at a time. In general, if you can't make the same thing with what's in your kitchen, you shouldn't be eating it.

Stick to eating food that came from a healthy plant or animal and you'll likely be better off than most people. Try to stick to the outside walls at the grocery store (produce, dairy, meats, breads). Be wary of the ingredients of anything on the inside aisles (peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal, soups, etc.).

I'm going to start getting my meat and bread from the farmers markets. That way I can at least feel comfortable knowing that my chicken wasn't stuffed with hormones so it would be full grown in 42 days.

 

I just turned 22 and have always had a weight problem. Last year I decided it was time to change things up since I'm only 5'4 and wieghed in at nearly 180lbs! Fatass yes I know lol. key things that I found most effective was eating moderate portioned meals every 3-4 hours and ABSOLUTLY no eating after 9pm no matter how tempting it was.

Actually changing my diet ended up being a lot harder than exercising itself. It took me a good,dedicated month of going to the gym 4X a week but after that it became easier and easier. I'm now a pretty decent 145lbs, trying to drop the last 15lbs by summer and lose the beer belly. I did a lot of running and weight lifting and my body structure is pretty big for a little guy so already know ill never have the lean look, but being ripped is just as good O and yes, the ab rippers are brutal!

 

O and switching ur snacks from say a bag of chips to an orange or a apple helped a lot in trimming me down. I dropped nearly 17lbs my first month exercising and changing my diet. People have to realize it's a lifestyle change there is no quick fix

 

Having a bad back is in part to a weak core. Strengthen your core, stretch, stretch, and stretch some more, especially your hamstrings to loosen the lower back. Remember to exhale when you stretch too - holding your breath tightens your muscles.

Good luck!
*****
I should add that I have been doing martial arts and also an instructor for about 16 years now. Doesn't mean I'm a bada$$ with a chiseled body....nearly the opposite because I love to eat burritos, quesadillas, juicy burgers and heck, I drink like a ****.

that aside, I have done the full "300" workout, intense cardio with snorkel-workouts and occasionally have a cigarette but I can still out-run most of my students and have even run 6 miles in less than an hour. Eat right, drink less, and stay active, STRETCH and most importantly, have fun.

Cheers....

 

Yea, seriously have fun! I can't do the treadmill out of pure boredom, but the kenpo is entertaining enough that I'll be sweating like nuts and my shirt is drenched, but I'm still tryin!

And goodluck with the Yoga, some of the moves for balance are nuts.

 

Do you attempt all of the posses each time, or do you skip some of the more difficult ones like the wheel pose?

 

I can't do the wheel pose, I just do the bridge and hold it the whole time, tryin' to push the pelvis out. I'm not as flexible as those guys in the video, but you can still do things (even though you might not be able to accomplish the pose) to help you out in the future.

I attempt them all, (without stopping the video). I can do pretty much everything... and kinda hold the Crane (the one with ur knees resting on ur triceps) for a few seconds and he tells you not to drop your head to the floor. I can't hold my toe and straighten my leg, that's just insane. I do try to stretch my legs even though it burns like hell. You aren't going to get better one day by just doing it, you gotta keep trying even if you suck. It builds the stabilizing muscles. I just use my handle of the powerblock as my yoga block. Helps.

Same deal with the ab ripper. I can do about 25seconds of most of the 30 second things, if not the whole 30 seconds. Just gotta keep thinkin you can add another rep, or a few seconds holding. Keep tryin to tack it on. I can't even keep my legs straight in the air gotta keep pushin that stretch in the legs. V-Ups, or V-Pulse ups is just insane. And the end thing for 1 minute, 20 seconds each in 3 stages of crunches with your legs up in the air is extremely hard just flexing and holding your abs there. All in the effort, and I'm hopin to actually fullout complete the video during phase II (after I can eat more carbs to last longer in the video).

 

I just did yoga last night and damn. No way I am flexible but hopefully if I keep at it, I can straighten my leg on some of these moves

 

ya ive been stretching, and working on my core. my bad back is from an accident 6 years back, stupid girl ran a red light, i t-boned her pretty hard, and totaled the s*** out of my 3 month old truck. maybe she should be in this thread, that idiot was in a hurry to get to baskin robins hahaha. yes she was obese... anyways i have been working hard, and eating right, my girlfriends dad is opening up a tae kwon do center here in turlock, so ill be doing that as well. if anybody is interested that lives in the area, let me know. i do as well drink, and smoke "cigarettes" occasionally...

 

Just want say when you all workout think about strengthening all your stabilizer muscles for the types of exercise you do. I ruptured my ACL in a jiu jitsu tournament in december, prior to the injury I was working out 4-6 days a week. I had surgery right before Christmas. It is just amazing how fast your muscles atrophy when you get injured, so now for me anyways its all baby steps. I only get to do what physical therapy and my orthopedist approves me to do. I am thankful to have started eliptical and stationary bike this week.

 

Same here, but add falling over and dropping my legs trying to hold half the poses I can't figure out what was worse, the warrior/triangle pose sets, the balance sets, or the yoga belly sets.

The warrior/triangle sets I just need to work through the burn in my legs in the lunges.

The balance sets I'm sure will just improve over time, but having the strength to keep my legs up would help a lot.

The yoga belly is about as bad as the Ab Ripper. I thought I was ok coming from the TH 200 ab routine in Power 90.... Ab Ripper X is many levels above that.






Also, if anyone has trouble logging their P90X workouts, I found a pretty good spreadsheet online. It does the job for me:

http://www.fitnesshealthandhealing.c..._Log_Sheet.xls

* Where it says "Enter Start Date" you need to enter it with the month spelled out like this "18-Jan-10" otherwise it doesn't seem to work. It also assumes you started on a Monday and the cells containing the weekdays are locked.
** And Shoulders & Arms says "Shoulder & Back" at the top.

 

Baby steps are better than no steps