P90X Modifications

How to modify P90X

The key to success with P90X is modification. If you cannot perform certain exercises you must modify. In the videos, Tony always has a person doing modifiers. Usually it is a female. Am I really going to do girl pull-ups? Hell, yes! I hate to admit it, but when I first started P90X I could do zero pull-ups and had to struggle to get 20 push-ups. I had to modify. I could do zero dive bomber push-ups. In fact, I got so mad doing shoulders and arms that I threw my dumbbells into my garage floor and bent the bar.

I say this to encourage you. Put your ego aside. I got super fat and super out of shape. I couldn’t believe the things I once could do where now impossible. Modification is your key to success. If you struggle, that is just a signal to where improvement is needed. Last week, on “legs & back” I did 138 pull-ups. My max push-ups on “chest and back” is 286. Not bad for starting with girl push-ups. Go to the knees, use a chair, do what is necessary to get progress.

Modification tips:

Press Pause-take a breather. You will be able to do more latter.

Mid-set breaks: I do them all the time. So what that you can’t do 400 push-ups in a row? Do 10. Stop and do 10 more. Your body does not know the difference.

Pull-ups: Use a chair (like Maren) or the pull-up assist or Pike press or reverse push-up. The bottom line is that you work at your max (whatever YOUR max is), that way you get stronger.

Do extra sets: Believe it or not, you may be able to do more on some exercises than the folks in the videos (especially after a round or two). If you get to the point where you are not totally zonked by the end, then do another bonus set. My cardio has gotten so good that after Plyometrics, I will add 10 additional minutes of cardio. You may need to do a few extra curls or squats. If you need to do more pull-ups then you are just freakishly strong.

Injuries: Work around them. Don’t quit. Just workout another body part. No excuses.

Let me know what you think by commenting on this article. Thanks.

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I quit P90X

I quit P90X! It was too hard. What did I do? I started P90X again. The mantra of P90X is the “do your best and forget the rest”. I now carry this over into everything I do. Failure happens everyday. It happens to all of us. Check out the “my story” tab for how horrible I was at first. I am a testament to how effective P90X/P90X2 is. I did everything wrong. I quit, I missed workouts, I ate horribly, and I drank alcohol.

The difference is that I decided that I would progress. I would get fit. I would make changes. I found a way. I would finish a “round” of X and look back on my calendar, see my inconsistencies, and decide to improve. You can do it in 90 days…yes you can. I did not and still have not reached my goals; however, I give up. You should never give up!

I don’t need to diet!

I always said I don’t need to diet. I can out work my diet. Does this sound familiar? The truth was…I was fat and out of shape. I would work, eat a whole pizza, and nothing ever changed. I wasn’t 18 anymore. The blessings of youth and burning it all up were over.

Everyone is on a diet. Diet is defined as: The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats

In “bruce almighty” a lady had been praying that she could lose weight on the Krispy Kreme diet. The fact of the matter is this: eat more than you burn, and you will gain weight. All of us have to be conscious of our nutritional needs. I have an acquaintance who is a former NFL football player who still looks like an elite athlete. He follows a strict nutritional and workout plan. If you ask him about his routine, he says “I know what my body needs”.

P90X and P90X2 are a workout AND nutritional plan. If you follow halp the plan you get half the results. Follow the plan and keep pushing play.
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How can I get away with cheating?

Most of us want to cheat. I am an expert on cheating. Nutrition is the key to success in any fitness program. If you want fast results, you have to be 100% dedicated to nutrition. If getting six pack abs in 90 days is not your goal…then you can cheat some.I have lost 55 pounds cheating the whole time. It took me way longer than 90 days to lose the weight. The real answer to whether or not you can cheat is this…how fast do you want results? I knew from my track record that if I tried to go cold turkey, I would quit. That was my history. I intentionally did the nutrition half way. I set out to clean things up little by little. The key was to really bring the workouts, while I cleaned up my act. I still cheat. I track all my food, every meal, every snack, every indulgence. I know how many calories I am burning per day. I know how many calories I am consuming per day. I can see the “six” coming in. The six is not my goal. My goal is to look good and feel good. My goal is to enjoy life, be fit, and happy. I will eventually get the six pack.

Peak fitness is the “peak”, the highest you can attain. Even professional athletes go through ups and downs throughout a year. That is why football teams have training camp. To maintain a peak is brutal. My personal philosophy is this: Work toward a goal…when you meet in, make a new goal. Constantly improve and enjoy the ride.

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Working around Injury

I am one banged up guy. I was a bit reckless in my younger years. When extreme sports popped up on the main stream in the early 90’s, let’s just say I went for it. BMX, inline skates, skateboards, and motorcycles where a mainstay in my life from childhood. Faster and harder was my mantra.

After a fracturing my L1, L2, L3, and Coccyx led me to severe back pain constant injury. I gave up working out. Before I started P90X, I was so out of shape. My back would always go out for no reason. I was afraid I would hurt myself. And I did. Improper form, too much weight, and too much ego were my nemesis.

I am now in great shape. I have great cardio. My doctor told me I was his healthiest patient. The nurse just asked me if I ran marathons, due to my low heart rate and blood pressure. When I began P90X, I could do zero pull-ups (a mainstay in X land). I decided to bring it and I eventually developed severe tendonitis in my elbow from over training.

I have had to look for alternate exercises to work the same muscle groups and continue to get results. Pike presses, heavy pants, and broomstick across two chairs. I have to be smart. Fitness is not about injury and pain. It is about improving over time and pushing yourself. If something is painful, there is a reason for it. Make sure you listen to your body. Use common sense. Put your ego on hold. “Rome was not built in one day, and neither was your body.”

If you can’t do one move…sub for another. My default move is jumping jacks. If you can’t work your legs…work your arms, if you can’t work your arms…work your core. If you can’t work your core…work your legs. Keep moving forward. Fitness is a lifelong pursuit, not a 90 day program.
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How many calories should I eat?

How many calories should I eat?

If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight, you have to know how many calories you should consume. This can get a little tricky, because depending on your body composition and activity level the amount of calories you need to consume can vary. There are also other factors to weight loss. If you eat the wrong type of calories for the activities you are doing, you can impede your results.

Thankfully, the good folks over a Beachbody put together a great nutrition guide for the P90X2 workout. I had trouble with the original P90X guide, but this one really lays it out simple. Food is fuel for performance. Eat what you need based on your personal goals.

Here are the 3 basic plans.

Fat shredder

50% Protein

25% Fat

25% Carbs

Energy Booster Plan

30% Protein

40% Carbs

30% fat

Endurance Plan

25% Protein

25% fat

50% Carbs

Using any of these plans you can gain or lose weight. If you eat more than you burn you will gain weight. You still have to know how much energy your body needs. Here is who to find out:

Calculate your Resting Metabolic Rate (body weight x 10=RMR)
Calculate your daily activity burn

Sedentary (RMR x 10%=DAB)

Active (RMR x 20%=DAB)

Very Active (RMR x 30%=DAB)

Calories you burn through exercise. Use a heart rate monitor to calculate this or if using P90X assume and average of 650 calories.
How many calories do you want in you surplus or deficit?
Your daily goals is calculated using this formula

Add steps 1-3. Subtract or add your info from step 4. This will be your target goal. You have to burn 3600 calories to lose one pound of fat. It is usually recommended not to try to lose more than two pounds per week.

I hope this helps. I use livestrong.com to track my intake. You have to track everything you eat, in order to know if you are hitting your goals.

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Progess Pics

Here are my before and after photos, since I began P90X and P90X2. I hope this gives you inspiration.

Scroll down the see more

Getting Started with P90X

When I first started P90X, I got sick…pasted out…and puked. I was too hard headed and egocentric to understand that I was out of shape and fat.

What I needed was a common sense approach. It was outlined in the guide and Tony gave modification, but my ego got in the way. “Do your best, and forget the rest”, was not just a tag line, but the key to success.

I thought I could do tons of weight and I thought I was going to beat out the folks in the videos. I go so frustrated that I literally thew my weights down and quit. That day haunted me. How could I quit something I thought would get me pumped up. I had to come back to it.

When getting started with P90X, you must take a realistic look at where you are at physically. I needed to modify the moves. I was constantly getting injured from not modifying and pushing beyond my limits. I was hard headed. Physical fitness is about being healthy, not getting hurt.

Here are my tips for getting started:

1. Take the fit test

2. Do your best and forget the rest. Push a little harder the next time.

3. Understand that you are not on a 90 day sprint, but a lifetime fitness journey. P90X will help you flip the “on switch” inside of you, if you keep at it.

4. Be consistent. Follow the plan. Do the workouts. Don’t skip. Get your nutrition figured out. Be consistent in making good food choices.

5. Get a support group. Chances are, the folks around you are not going to be thrilled about your new found direction. Plug in to a coach or network of like minded people. Click here for more info on this.

6. Fail your way forward. I was horrible. I quit several times. I made slow progress, but I kept at it. I know I had lots of changes that needed to be made. I took it slow and steady. My transformation was not a 90 day one. I have taken two years to lose 55 pounds. You can do it fast or slow. Just get it done!

Motivation

Motivation

My family
I looked in the mirror one day and realized that I was a heart attack in waiting. I had two little girls and was always tired and worn out. I knew something had to change. I wanted my daughters to have the best and I wanted to be around to support them and help them succeed in life. My wife did not marry a big fat guy. Why was she expected to “settle” for a lazy, fat guy? Would I want to be married to someone who looked like me?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that physical appearance is the most important thing. However, a person’s physical appearance does show how they value themselves. If I valued myself and my family, I had to make drastic changes.

My Faith
Philippians 3
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
1 Corinthians 9
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

My well being
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”-Vince Lombardi

I know that if I am going to be successful, I have to have successful habits. These habits are part of your beings. They are inter-weaved throughout your fabric. Your mind, body, and spirit. If you are successful in your career, but your relationships are in shambles, you are not successful. If your bank account is full, but your body if sick (because of how you have treated it)…you are in lack.
I have to put things in perspective. I want to live a long and prosperous life. I want to demonstrate to my children the balanced life. You work, you plan, you plan, you struggle, you push forward, and you laugh …while enjoying the journey.

My Workouts

These have become are natural part of my day. I plan my workouts, as a business appointment. The time is set…I never miss. I can’t get fired. I have goals. I mean business! In fact, I actually do extra workouts. I “bring it” everyday. I push hard and track my progress. When I first started, I scoffed at this idea. Now I realize that you have to know where you have been, in order to know where you are going. P90X is 6 days per week. P90X is 5 days per week. I usually workout 7 days per week! I modify for the extra days and do things that I think would just be fun to day. sometimes the extra stuff is killer, sometimes it is just having fun running around and playing games with the kids.

If you are really fit, you will understand that kid games (i.e. tag) are not just games, but they are interval workouts. That is why little kids are fit.

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