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What's this P90X workout stuff?

Plyo-X is the only routine I actually wear shoes while doing. Even then, I've done it without with no issues. I typically use an exercise mat, so I don't really feel the need for shoes.

Cheers. I'm gonna try to sort mine out that are a bit muddy.

In other news... Why the heck is Whey Protein Powder causing me to get Diarrhea?
I'm perfectly fine with milk. It's god damn annoying. It doesn't hurt, but I have to hold my farts in.
*awaits avatar quote
 

Alfarif

This picture? uhh I can explain really!
Cheers. I'm gonna try to sort mine out that are a bit muddy.

In other news... Why the heck is Whey Protein Powder causing me to get Diarrhea?
I'm perfectly fine with milk. It's god damn annoying. It doesn't hurt, but I have to hold my farts in.
*awaits avatar quote

Did you just start taking it?
 

Alfarif

This picture? uhh I can explain really!
Dabookerman said:
Yeah. Like on Day one. 3-4 table spoon heaps with milk after work out. No more.

It lasts about a week and then your body adjusts. Right now, you're throwing a lot of protein at it. If your previous eating cycle was more carbs than protein, your body doesn't really know what to do with all that protein yet. The shits and the farts will go away and then you'll CRAVE that protein shake daily. Yum!

Also:

Dabookerman said:
So just did Kenpo X and thus my first week is done. I would do the stretches one tomorrow, but it seems I'll be going out. So won't have time at all.

I must say, didn't really enjoy Kenpo X as much, although I think it's more to do with needing a bit more room, and trying to learn the punches/kicks.

Furthermore my biggest weakness is balance.

The great thing about the P90 series is that it doesn't focus on just one thing, but shows you how ALL of it comes together. Yoga and Kenpo will help you with balance. I took martial arts about 12-13 years ago, so I remember what the punches, kicks, and blocks should feel like, but my balance went to shit over the last decade due to not working out or really focusing on those things. I'm 24 days into P90X and my balance and flexibility are pretty close to what I used to have back when I was way more active. I'm now on the Core Synergistics/Kenpo/Yoga week that's inbetween phases (I guess, I have no clue, really) and Core Synergistics is a great change up from what I was doing before. I don't think I could have done all 58 minutes if I hadn't done all the weeks beforehand.

So keep with it. You will definitely get there. And you WILL see results. It's damned amazing.
 
It lasts about a week and then your body adjusts. Right now, you're throwing a lot of protein at it. If your previous eating cycle was more carbs than protein, your body doesn't really know what to do with all that protein yet. The shits and the farts will go away and then you'll CRAVE that protein shake daily. Yum!

Also:



The great thing about the P90 series is that it doesn't focus on just one thing, but shows you how ALL of it comes together. Yoga and Kenpo will help you with balance. I took martial arts about 12-13 years ago, so I remember what the punches, kicks, and blocks should feel like, but my balance went to shit over the last decade due to not working out or really focusing on those things. I'm 24 days into P90X and my balance and flexibility are pretty close to what I used to have back when I was way more active. I'm now on the Core Synergistics/Kenpo/Yoga week that's inbetween phases (I guess, I have no clue, really) and Core Synergistics is a great change up from what I was doing before. I don't think I could have done all 58 minutes if I hadn't done all the weeks beforehand.

So keep with it. You will definitely get there. And you WILL see results. It's damned amazing.

Will do man. I've honestly enjoyed this week and can't wait to repeat on Saturday. I already feel better and the guys at work have been encouraging me too.
Can't wait to see some positive results :D
Thanks a lot for the help and encouragement :)
 

Alfarif

This picture? uhh I can explain really!
Okay, first: What's the noob effect of muscle growth? Something I should watch for?

I currently weight 163 and I'm 5'10. This was before I started P90x four days ago. Probably haven't changed much. I ordered a fat caliper to try and measure my body fat, though. Should arrive Tuesday.

Just now saw this. Sorry.

The noob effect is basically when you start utilizing muscles for the first time, your body compensates by putting all of its resources behind growing them. For instance, when you first start lifting, you'll probably suffer from DOMS (delayed onset muscle syndrome). There are a million theories about why it happens. The one I like is that your muscles are kind of like an engine and when you're first putting them under stress that they aren't used to, they have no idea how to burn the fuel you're throwing at them, so they struggle withi t. After a few days and subsequent workouts, your body starts focusing on your muscles during its repair cycle (sleep; the reason it's important to get adequate sleep while working out), and grows them with available resources (protein) so that it's easier for you to work them out. At the beginning, it's really easy for your body to do this and you're going to see a lot of great results. But as your body gets used to working out, it stops putting as many resources behind growing those muscles to compensate for what you're throwing at it.

This is actually one of the reasons why it's better to talk to someone who has been doing a specific routine for quite awhile on whether it's a good routine or not and not some guy who has been doing it for a couple weeks.
 

Ydahs

Member
So I'm on day 4 and just now recovered from the day 1 soreness. Chest and back wasn't as bad as I expected but ab ripper at the end absolutely killed me. Can't wait to do yoga x in the evening, even though it's an hour and a half. I really like this program so far, it's a fantastic introduction to working out and setting up a routine.

I suggest doing Ab Ripper X before the main workout instead of after. I felt too buggered out following some workouts in phase one and two so I skipped it sometimes, but after someone suggested doing it before the workout, my form ended up being a lot better and I got more out of it.

It also acts as a good warm up for the main workout.
 

Alfarif

This picture? uhh I can explain really!
I suggest doing Ab Ripper X before the main workout instead of after. I felt too buggered out following some workouts in phase one and two so I skipped it sometimes, but after someone suggested doing it before the workout, my form ended up being a lot better and I got more out of it.

It also acts as a good warm up for the main workout.

Wholeheartedly agree. I do the same thing. I do some of the basic stretches (marching, jumping jacks, running, etc) before doing Ab Ripper but I always do it first before I continue with the main workout. Just did 55 Kayak Mason Twists the other night. Yeeeeeeeeessssssssssssss.
 
I suggest doing Ab Ripper X before the main workout instead of after. I felt too buggered out following some workouts in phase one and two so I skipped it sometimes, but after someone suggested doing it before the workout, my form ended up being a lot better and I got more out of it.

It also acts as a good warm up for the main workout.

That might have been me. And if it was, you're welcome!

Honestly, I really don't know why BeachBody didn't put Ab Ripper before the main workouts. You're so worn out by the end of the workout that you end up doing a really crappy job on Ab Ripper. Hell, half of the time I'd skip it altogether.
 

FOOTE

Member
Speaking of Ab ripper, my legs are totally wrecked after doing leg and back + ab ripper for the first time in about 7 months. I could barely make it up the basement steps afterward.
 

gcubed

Member
That might have been me. And if it was, you're welcome!

Honestly, I really don't know why BeachBody didn't put Ab Ripper before the main workouts. You're so worn out by the end of the workout that you end up doing a really crappy job on Ab Ripper. Hell, half of the time I'd skip it altogether.

what a great idea that i'm totally oblivious to.

It only really bothers me on leg days as i stop certain moves because my legs hurt moreso then my abs/core
 
This is probably a silly question.. But is there ANY kind of alcohol one can have during the 90 days. Or is it strongly recommended to not have any?
 

Septimius

Junior Member
This is probably a silly question.. But is there ANY kind of alcohol one can have during the 90 days. Or is it strongly recommended to not have any?

Like with any dieting, if you're too strict, you're just hurting yourself and your progress. Be lenient with yourself, but don't take too much. Have cheat days, have a chocolate bar, have a muffin. Just don't have it every day, or even more than once a week.

Get drunk! It's fun! It's life! You aren't supposed to stop living just because you want to take great care of your body, it's just that you should come to understand that drinking every day or several times per week is not a good thing. If you get drunk of your ass and binge your ass off once a month it won't do anything with your progress.

You might want to consider the fact that getting drunk on beer gives more calories than getting drunk on booze, but if this is a rare occurrence, drink whatever you want.

I've heard studies that a glass of wine every day is good and that a beer after workout is good. I think the alcohol part is the only bad thing in any of them, and of course drinking a gallon of anything that's that rich in energy isn't good for someone on a diet.
 
Fuck flu! Missed total body yesterday and Yoga today :(

I hate missing days

This is probably a silly question.. But is there ANY kind of alcohol one can have during the 90 days. Or is it strongly recommended to not have any?

Avoid wine, beer and cider. Lots of calories in the three. Spirits with juice is what I have. Vodka and Orange being the common one. Whiskey and diet coke.

Just don't get to hangover stages or else you'll miss a workout. Done it plenty of times.
 
Like with any dieting, if you're too strict, you're just hurting yourself and your progress. Be lenient with yourself, but don't take too much. Have cheat days, have a chocolate bar, have a muffin. Just don't have it every day, or even more than once a week.

Get drunk! It's fun! It's life! You aren't supposed to stop living just because you want to take great care of your body, it's just that you should come to understand that drinking every day or several times per week is not a good thing. If you get drunk of your ass and binge your ass off once a month it won't do anything with your progress.

You might want to consider the fact that getting drunk on beer gives more calories than getting drunk on booze, but if this is a rare occurrence, drink whatever you want.

I've heard studies that a glass of wine every day is good and that a beer after workout is good. I think the alcohol part is the only bad thing in any of them, and of course drinking a gallon of anything that's that rich in energy isn't good for someone on a diet.

Excellent.

I rarely drink anyway. Only social occasions. Got a night out tonight and one a few weekends away. Good thing is I don't do beer. Just gonna do vodka diet coke or something in this case. Gonna make sure I drink lots of water as well.. After I get drunk..

Cheers :)
 

Pyrokai

Member
Just now saw this. Sorry.

The noob effect is basically when you start utilizing muscles for the first time, your body compensates by putting all of its resources behind growing them. For instance, when you first start lifting, you'll probably suffer from DOMS (delayed onset muscle syndrome). There are a million theories about why it happens. The one I like is that your muscles are kind of like an engine and when you're first putting them under stress that they aren't used to, they have no idea how to burn the fuel you're throwing at them, so they struggle withi t. After a few days and subsequent workouts, your body starts focusing on your muscles during its repair cycle (sleep; the reason it's important to get adequate sleep while working out), and grows them with available resources (protein) so that it's easier for you to work them out. At the beginning, it's really easy for your body to do this and you're going to see a lot of great results. But as your body gets used to working out, it stops putting as many resources behind growing those muscles to compensate for what you're throwing at it.

This is actually one of the reasons why it's better to talk to someone who has been doing a specific routine for quite awhile on whether it's a good routine or not and not some guy who has been doing it for a couple weeks.

Gotcha! Thanks for letting me know. Very interesting stuff.

Did Chest and Back again today. I was able to do more push ups!!! I was really happy about that. Pull-ups, though....not so much. Can still only do 1-2 unassisted (not using my feet), which is a bummer for me. I'm thinking about skipping them during P90X and going to the gym afterwards to use a machine that works the same muscles. I feel like that would be more effective for me since I'm fatiguing on, like, the first rep. Also, can't use the bands because there's no place in my house to drape them around for the appropriate height that's strong enough to not break. So...yeah...

Okay, so I finally got around to measuring my body fat percentage using this and following this guy's directions (just by measuring the suprialiac only, though) and I got a reading of 11.6% body fat. That seems low already, doesn't it? Is it because I'm already skinny? I kept remeasuring and kept getting this same result. How low is TOO low to go for body fat percentage? Is it realistic to want to go down to 7% body fat? Is that even possible within the 3 months of P90X?

The rest of my stats for reference:

5'10"
158 lbs.
32" waist
35" chest

Ideally, I'd like to get down to a 30" waist. That would make me happy. What body percentage would I need to shoot for? And am I being unrealistic? I know I sound really skinny, and I am, but my midsection is not. I have unproportional fat around my butt and abdomen in relation to the rest of my body, which is why I want to lose it. I also want to be safe, too. (I can't help but think that a picture here would really help, but I'm not one to do that :p )

Also, about the alcohol, I'm only a week in and I drank one night (not shitfaced or anything) and probably will tonight, too, since I have a friend coming in from out of town)....is that too much? What is the primary concern with drinking alcohol? Is it just the extra empty calories or the fact that you won't be at your fullest the next day to do your workout? Because if I drink tonight (not excessively, but just enough) and can still do Plyo tomorrow EVENING instead of the morning, is that really a bad thing if I count in the alcohol calories in my diet? I'm thinking it'll be okay if I just promise not to have any other drinks for the rest of phase 1. I mean, if I have a friend coming in town, I don't want to just sit around without a cocktail, you know?
 

OG Kush

Member
Gotcha! Thanks for letting me know. Very interesting stuff.

Did Chest and Back again today. I was able to do more push ups!!! I was really happy about that. Pull-ups, though....not so much. Can still only do 1-2 unassisted (not using my feet), which is a bummer for me. I'm thinking about skipping them during P90X and going to the gym afterwards to use a machine that works the same muscles. I feel like that would be more effective for me since I'm fatiguing on, like, the first rep. Also, can't use the bands because there's no place in my house to drape them around for the appropriate height that's strong enough to not break. So...yeah...

PLEASE, please, for the love of God don't do this. Continue with the pullups. Just use the chair, you'll thank me later, seirously. I just finished my first round of p90x (although still continuing it weekly till I get a gym membership) and pull ups have improved A LOT. They're great for your back and toning arms.
 

Pyrokai

Member
PLEASE, please, for the love of God don't do this. Continue with the pullups. Just use the chair, you'll thank me later, seirously. I just finished my first round of p90x (although still continuing it weekly till I get a gym membership) and pull ups have improved A LOT. They're great for your back and toning arms.



Okay, I'll continue to do the pull-ups :p
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Best part of P90X2 yoga (aside from it being 20 minutes shorter)? Taking a nap at the end. Well, not really, but I hate yoga but love how you wind down with it.

Plus as much as I hate it, I feel fantastic after I get done and shower. Fully stretched.
 
Any advice for a noob trying to avoid shoulder injury? I strained my shoulder earlier this week, and while it's better now, I want to make sure it doesn't happen again while doing Power 90 (and P90X later on).
 

Septimius

Junior Member
Okay, I'll continue to do the pull-ups :p

You can continue doing them, but I see no problem with doing a machine assisted pull-up to get your muscle group up to being able to actually get something out of it.

Any advice for a noob trying to avoid shoulder injury? I strained my shoulder earlier this week, and while it's better now, I want to make sure it doesn't happen again while doing Power 90 (and P90X later on).

I believe the shoulder is the most complex part of our body in terms of tendons and muscles to look out for. It's not as easy as "don't do this and you'll be fine" since there's three major tendons and muscles to work them in various directions.

I would go see my chiropractor to hear his take on how my shoulder's condition is, and what I should do with it. When I did that when I did something with my shoulder, I was told I was very flexible, so I had to look out for "roofing" my shoulder - ie, I'm so flexible I can injure myself and push the bone from the arm into the bags of liquid dampening the bone-to-bone action and I was at risk for doing some bad damage towards it. I was told pushups and such were fine, but before I started doing "outer-position" exercises with my shoulders, I had to do lots of 30+ rep training to get the balancing muscles strong enough to prevent injury. In more 'solid' body-types, the tendons and the likes will actually prevent the shoulder from being able to injure itself.

If your shoulder isn't 100% fit for fight, you can be aggravating what can become a bigger injury in the future. It is very hard to say, but if you managed to strain or tweak it in any way, you might be at risk, especially if we're talking the shoulder itself. I know Americans (though I don't know where you're from) hates chiropractors, but I'd say it's important that someone who's interested in your musculoskeletal condition looks at this who also knows shoulders, and I believe any GP would fall short in this department.

For general advice, it is of course always important to warm up properly. The P90X videos do a great job of this - haven't seen P90. If your uncertain about your shoulders condition, there's a ton of basic, pretty much arm swinging exercises, which trains some important balancing muscles that you might want to focus training a bit before you start doing any serious work with the shoulder. For many starting to use they're bodies after long 'inactivity', the mind is often more ept at doing heavy stuff than the body is, and it's a vulnerable period.
 

carlo6529

Member
Im in my second week of p90x. I did Plyometrics today; well as much as I could >.<; The jumping squats kill me. They get me breathing hard and drain me a lot. By the end I was exhausted so I knew I did more then good enough. Enjoying the program so far but I find the yoga a little boring. So far its the only workout that seems almost like a chore.

Also I'm struggling badly with Pulll Ups aswell, I have to use a chair for assistance =(. Anyone tell me roughly when they start to become easier?
 

Pyrokai

Member
I'm using a doorway pull up and can't even use a chair because the doorway is low enough that I can just use the floor. Am I doing it wrong? :\
 

FOOTE

Member
Any advice for a noob trying to avoid shoulder injury? I strained my shoulder earlier this week, and while it's better now, I want to make sure it doesn't happen again while doing Power 90 (and P90X later on).

All I can say is be careful. I hurt my shoulder mid last year and was told that it would not need surgery to repair. However, it has taken about 6 months to stop popping and hurting. Just be careful, and like Tony says "don't be a hero".

Okay, I'll continue to do the pull-ups :p
Have you looked into the bands for your pullups? You could use the bands for a while if you can set something up like they use in the videos.
 

Kiriku

SWEDISH PERFECTION
PLEASE, please, for the love of God don't do this. Continue with the pullups. Just use the chair, you'll thank me later, seirously. I just finished my first round of p90x (although still continuing it weekly till I get a gym membership) and pull ups have improved A LOT. They're great for your back and toning arms.

I agree 100 %. When I started with P90X (for reference, I was pretty out of shape, never been to a gym etc), I could barely do 2-3 without a chair. My initial thought was "no way I'll ever manage this without a chair". But I still kept going, using a chair.
And it kind of blew my mind... I think it was towards the end of my first round of P90X... I realized that "wtf, I can actually do 10 pull-ups without a chair!?" (perhaps I could've managed it even earlier than that, but I guess I never gave it a real shot). For someone who has never exercised on a regular basis to improve like that, it was an amazing feeling!
On my second round of P90X I've managed more and more reps... and now (three weeks away from being done) I average about 15-25 reps, dropped the chair completely. So yeah, things will definitely improve if you keep working on it. :)
 
did the chest and back today after my arms being so sore for 4 days. felt good man.

i'm not like a full follower of the program cause of my busy lifestyle but i just do what i can when i can. even if i can only manage 3 workouts a week, i guess thats better than none!
 

Draft

Member
I work with someone that "did" P90x. They never progressed past assisted pull ups, and never got any noticeable strength gains. I've never done P90x, but from an outsider perspective it looks like cardio, diet and pull ups. If you're not going to do the pull ups, you may as well just go on a diet and run a few miles every day.
 

mm04

Member
I work with someone that "did" P90x. They never progressed past assisted pull ups, and never got any noticeable strength gains. I've never done P90x, but from an outsider perspective it looks like cardio, diet and pull ups. If you're not going to do the pull ups, you may as well just go on a diet and run a few miles every day.

Yeah, not the case. Shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest are all focuses as well. If this person saw no gains at all, he/she obviously was not really "doing it" with any real conviction. You have to want it. It's a struggle to do pull-ups. But even if you never get past assisted pull-ups, the number of assisted reps should absolutely go up, assuming real effort is applied.
 

Everdred

Member
Just completed my second week and I miss the soreness. I loved the brutal first week. Made me feel like I was making real progress. Now that I'm not very sore, feels like it didn't work.
 

OG Kush

Member
Hello everyone just came across this thread and wanted to post my results with 2 rounds of P90X.
My thread was posted here http://www.teambeachbody.com/connect/message-boards/-/message_boards/message/124366655

Give it a look and let me know what you think and if you have any questions.
Keep pressing play!

Holy shit u lost mad fat and got great definition. Makes it seem like I didn't make that much progress. I didnt take creative though And I've been doing low carb which may not be gd on p90. No big deal though I'm not in a huge rush and I'm still experimenting with diets and stuff to see what works. How was that oxypro eliete stuff?
 

Rad-

Member
If you are having problems with pull-ups and don't like putting bands to doorways, you can also do reverse band pull-ups. Put the band under your legs and do reverse pull-ups. It's a similar move to shoulder press but you focus more on your back muscles. I went from 0 pull-ups to 6 pull-ups in 2 months this way.
 
I'm fairly useless at push ups. Is there any harm in doing (trying) pushups each morning just to build strength round the chest area? I workout after work, for reference.
 

OG Kush

Member
I'm fairly useless at push ups. Is there any harm in doing (trying) pushups each morning just to build strength round the chest area? I workout after work, for reference.

Yeah that should be fine. When tony horton says don't exercise the same body part everyday he means when doing really intense workout like say if you were benching. With bodyweight workouts everyday should be fine.
 

IllumiNate

Member
Amazing results, dude.

Thanks yeah it was tough but so worth it. At the start of the program I couldnt do 2 pullups, now I'm able to do 14 unassisted pullups. The program works and will help you understand how to achieve your fitness goals.
I'll be starting P90X2 once I get a new place, where I'm living now is to small so I've just been doing the P90X workouts at the gym with Bench/machine work thrown in for good measure.
 

carlo6529

Member
Plyometrics is no joke. I just did it on week 2 and I just burn out. My stamina level is too low :(

I think I will switch it with Cardio X.

What do you guys think? Switch, or stick with it and only do about half of it?
 

IllumiNate

Member
Plyometrics is no joke. I just did it on week 2 and I just burn out. My stamina level is too low :(

I think I will switch it with Cardio X.

What do you guys think? Switch, or stick with it and only do about half of it?

Keep with Plyo X it gets easier every week, Do your best and forget the rest!
 

p_xavier

Authorized Fister
So I officially started the training one week ago, and wow, it's amazing to see results so fast. My gut is already much more defined.
 
Plyometrics is no joke. I just did it on week 2 and I just burn out. My stamina level is too low :(

I think I will switch it with Cardio X.

What do you guys think? Switch, or stick with it and only do about half of it?

It sounds crazy, but sooner or later, you'll get to the point where Plyo X is too easy, and you buy Insanity and start doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid.

Or maybe that's just me.
 
It sounds crazy, but sooner or later, you'll get to the point where Plyo X is too easy, and you buy Insanity and start doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid.

Or maybe that's just me.

You know what never got too easy?

1 hour and a half of Yoga X a week (twice on recovery weeks) and getting Vinyasa trolled into oblivion.

Man, I hated Yoga X.
 
You know what never got too easy?

1 hour and a half of Yoga X a week (twice on recovery weeks) and getting Vinyasa trolled into oblivion.

Man, I hated Yoga X.

Lately, I've been doing an Insantiy workout instead of yoga.

I need to do yoga more often, but it's so freaking long.

So I officially started the training one week ago, and wow, it's amazing to see results so fast. My gut is already much more defined.

Welcome to the club!
 

OG Kush

Member
Yeah yogas really good but just so damn long. I swapped it for some cardio as well, but still occasionally do it. I really should do it more. feel so good after it aswell.
 

thetechkid

Member
Yoga X:

10 minutes in: Okay this doesn't seem to bad
20 minutes in: Starting to feel it
30 minutes in: oh god
Day 15: WHY DID I DO THIS?!
Cool Down: I like this part, its easy
 

cashman

Banned
I absolutely sucked at doing yoga x for the first time this past Thursday. I'm gonna enjoy doing his for the next 12 weeks even if it's extremely long.
 
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