P90X vs CrossFit, a tale of two success stories.

There are probably hundreds of posts out there in the blogosphere debating the merits of P90X vs CrossFit.  There are probably millions of collective keystrokes that have been pushed supporting one side or the other.  There has been vitriol, conciliatory comments, moderation, and occasionally agreement. I'm not sure my post here will add much or settle anything, but I figure I'd take a few moments to add to the fray.

My P90X results from Sept-Dec 2008

First off, lets talk about my experiences with P90X.  For those of you following this blog, you'll know I had great success with P90X.  I dropped 20 lbs or so in 90 days and looked great.  After a while, I fell away from the program and over the span of 2.5 years I gained back everything I lost.   What P90X does offer is an awesome, specific 90 day plan to physically transform your body.  What you do with it after that time is up to you.  I tried to repeat the program, I worked a few other Beachbody programs, but I never was able match the initial level of intensity and enthusiasm I had during that first 90 days. 

Skip ahead a few years and my before pictures are again where they were in 2008.  (Insert bullshit excuses here).  I was driving home and out of the corner of my eye I saw a sign for a CrossFit gym. This was less than a mile from my house.  I found the gym's website, contacted the owners of the gym box and set up my first foundations workout.  That first workout was a shock to the system and a definite reminder of what I had lost in terms of fitness.

You can find enough internet dribble on CrossFit to fill reams of paper.  To define CrossFit in one sentence it would be "constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement."  By doing CrossFit, you'll become strong, but not the strongest; fast, but not the fastest; and so on.  You will become a very well rounded athlete prepared for a wide variety of potential physical tasks.  This ultimately is a great reason why CrossFit is so popular among police and military.  They never know exactly what challenges they may face (outside of a standardized fitness test) but they need to be ready for those challenges when they arise.

When it comes down to a nutshell, P90X and CrossFit are similar but they are also drastically different.  P90X has a very specific goal of improving outward physical appearance and is fantastic at meeting that goal in the time prescribed. 

90 Days of Crossfit, definite improvement, but not as much fat loss as P90x.

Ask anyone who does CrossFit and when it comes to "getting in better shape" they'll tell you that the physical signs of improved fitness are a "welcome side effect" of CrossFit.  For CrossFitters, it's rare to see a goal that has anything to do with physical appearance or weight.  A CrossFit athlete may have a goal of a specific weight they want to lift in a certain move, to get a muscle up, to get their "Murph" time under an hour etc.  By pursuing these other goals, the improvement in physical appearance will come as a very welcome byproduct.  The ultimate goal of CrossFit is improved health, and it delivers.

A P90X athlete may get bigger biceps in 90 days, have better abs in 90 days, but they ultimately may not be stronger than a similar athlete who does 90 days of CrossFit.  One thing that struck me was that in P90X, I was never nervous before a workout.  However, when I see a move on the board at my box, and it's one that I struggle with, I get nervous.  I both love and hate the challenge.  When my coach pushes me and gets me to try something that's way outside my comfort zone, I appreciate it (even though at first I might hate 'em.) P90X, without having the benefit of a coach right next to you and pushing you harder misses some of this element. 

So, I've rambled on.  I've added a few hundred more words to the CrossFit vs P90X debate.  What would I recommend?  That depends on your goals. 

If you are 90 days away from a Caribbean Cruise and want to get in great shape to look awesome on the beach, I'm going to tell you to buy P90X.  You'll be happy with the results.

If on the other hand, you're looking for a long term challenge and want to become physically stronger and more prepared for anything life throws your way, I'm going to tell you to find a local CrossFit box.

Ultimately, this isn't an "either or" proposition.  I may very well get to the point in a year where I need a break from CrossFit and will be popping Tony Horton into my DVD player again.  What is most important is that you get off the couch and move your ass.

3....2....1.....

Day 3, Shoulders and Arms

This is going to be a tough week for me for 2 reasons. 

1. I'm starting P90X this week after a long layoff.
2. This is one of the weeks every so often that I need to cover the office at my job.

See, we have a real small office.  My companies HQ is in Rockford, but I work out of our Chicago sales office.  Due to the economy, streamlining etc, we only have 4 people in the office.  As our main office administrator needs to be in training for the week, I am filling in for her.  Now, I'm in sales and normally only in the office one or two days a week. So, a 55 mile one way trip into my office sucks, but is manageable when I only have to do it once a week.

When it becomes a 5-day a week trip, its stressful.  But here's what I'm thinking.  If I can manage to get a full week of P90X in without any missed workouts this week, then how much easier will it be in later weeks when I don't have the challenges of a 3 hour commute each day.

Last night, I got home, and went straight into shoulders and arms.  I'm not using the same weight that I used to.  But, I picked slightly lighter weight then previous runs of P90X and focused on quality form throughout.

Ab Ripper X still sucks.  I "presently struggle with" most of the exercises.  I have a weak lower back and long legs.  Moves like "fifer scissors" absolutely tear me up.  I have terrible form, can't get full vertical extension with my legs, and can't even keep up.  I'll definitely improve, but this move has always been my weak spot.

Diet yesterday was good.  Monica and I signed up for a grocery shopping and meal planning service called e-Mealz.  It's a great service.  Not only can you save money on food for your family by having a thoughtful planning list for your both your meals and shopping list, you can get healthy too.  We are currently enrolled in their "Wal-Mart Low Carb meal plan for 2."  This provides us a shopping list and meal planning for the entire week.  We're saving money and have good, quality low carb meal choices to choose from.  Last night's dinner was a cream cheese egg dish.  It tasted great. 

Well, that's all for now.  Back to work.  Yoga X tonight. 

Weight gain during pregnancy....in men???

A British research firm is reporting that the average weight gained during pregnancy is 14 pounds — and that’s by the babies’ fathers.

According to a NY Times article found here the average man gains 14 pounds (or one stone if you're reading this in the U.K.) during their partner's pregnancy.

Guess what?  I'm average. 

Yup, I don't know what it was.  During Monica's pregnancy I gained right along side her.  I put on about 14 lbs exactly.  I didn't watch what I ate, we ate out more because we realized that after Kylie was born opportunities to eat out would be few and far between.  There's a whole list of excuses, but they are all lame.

So, here I am.  Father of an amazingly cute 4 month old baby and pants that are a bit tight.  Isn't she cute?

Good news though, I've got a plan to take off the added weight.  I'm on day 3 of another round of P90X.  I'm around 212 lbs right now.  It's funny, because I now weigh almost exactly what I did way before I ever started P90X in 2008.  However, I can tell my body composition isn't the same.  I have more muscle now than I did back then.  So, the 212-215 lbs I'm at now is not the same body as the 212-215 I was back in 2008.  So at least I've got that going for me.


First couple days of this round have really beaten me up.  I'm taking my own advice that I've given others starting out.  Don't feel bad if you can't keep up.  If the first time through Plyo you're totally killed after 35 minutes take that as a small victory that you made it that far.  Don't think of it as a failure, think of it as an accomplishment compared to the "you" that was sitting on the couch last week.

So, I'll be back here blogging regularly about this round of P90X.  Can't wait to bring it all over again.

--John

Chest and Back and Closets? What?

Great workout today.  Went to a gun show to promote ASC then came home and knocked out Chest and Back.  This workout is a good one.  The variety of push ups and pull ups is a great well rounded workout that "just gets it done."

Why is it that days where you get a workout in, you continue to be more productive throughout the rest of the day.  Monica and I went to Home Depot and Menard's to work on getting our house ready for the baby.  The one thing that we have in the house are crappy closets.  The builders put in crappy cheap closet racks that don't utilize the space well.  We  got three closet sets to make over two closets.  The one for Kylie's room (Kylie is the baby's  name if you've missed it.)  The other two will be combined to get our master bedroom closet redone.  Monica has had the walk-in master closet to herself for nearly 3 years.  With some planning and effort we hope to share this closet.  Wish us luck.

Tomorrow, it will be PlyoX in the morning.  Then we'll get at least one coat of paint up in the baby's room.  We'll go see a matinee of Inception then come back and finish the paint and start working on the closet system installation.

Why P90X doesn't work.

P90x doesn't work! It's just glitzy glam marketing and a waste of your money. You can spend your money on P90X, but you won't get in shape, you won't get leaner. Here's why:

• You can buy the DVDs, but, then you have to do the workouts.
• You actually have to follow a diet plan. They have a crazy theory that you need to burn more calories than you take in.
  
• They actually expect you to workout 6 or more days a week. Who has time for that?
  
• Tony Horton wants you to work out over an hour a day. Again, haven't you heard of 8-minute abs?
  

Obviously this is satire. I don't think P90X is a gimmick. I've seen it work for far too many friends and customers to think otherwise. I was reminded of this today when discussing the program with a customer. He said, "So and so has been doing P90X and has had good results." I thought, "Of course he has, anyone who actually follows the program has great results. It's the folks who 'modify' the program or only do it one or two days a week that don't succeed."

As a Beachbody coach, I've had lots of customers purchase P90X. Usually I can tell right away if a person is going to have success with the program. Some people buy P90X, but right off the bat tell me how they are going to modify the program. This is warning sign number 1 that this person isn't going to a.) complete the program, or b.) have much success.

Tony Horton didn't just haphazardly put the program together. All the routines are designed and scheduled to flow into one another. For example, just when you're dying of soreness from 2 tough upper body workouts in 3 days, the next day is a "relaxing" yoga day that challenges your muscles, while stretching them. Just what your body needed. Some folks think Kenpo X is too easy, but its designed to get your heart rate in the fat burning zone, not to get your heart racing.

My advice to anyone that is thinking about buying P90X is to only purchase it if you're committed to following the program to the best of your ability. This means committing to the schedule, the diet, the intensity etc. Now, no one is perfect. Everyone has to modify at times. There are days when I've been crunched for time and knew that doing half of Chest and Back is better than none of Chest and Back. These things happen.

First Video Blog

Thanks for watching guys

Video Blogging & Game Plan Chicago

So, just a quick question. Should I start video blogging? I've thought about it for a while and I think it might be a really effective way to talk about P90X and other Beachbody workouts. Just wondering, anyone have any thoughts?

Also, Monica and I had a fantastic time at the Game Plan Road Tour event in Chicago this past weekend. Had a great time learning about how to more effectively build your Beachbody business. But the best part of the weekend was the great workout we got to enjoy, compliments of Mark Briggs. The workout was fantastic. WE did some nice circuit training. Upper, Cardio, Middle and Lower (UCML) was the name of the workout. It was a killer.

If you ever have the opportunity to workout with Mark, take him up on it.

P90X, 10 Days in!

Wow, I've got a lot to catch up on.

I started P90X again on the 9th of January. Now, this time I'm easing myself into it. Having done P90X before, I know what I may be capable of. However my strength levels aren't where they were 10 months ago when I had done P90X twice. So, I have to consciously hold back on some of the weight and reps I attempt.

Things have been going well. It's just funny how different your posture is when you're working out. I don't know what it is, whether it's the muscle soreness, or something else. I just know that when I'm doing strength training, I walk taller, my posture is different. It's a good feeling.

Now, things haven't been perfect. I've had a few really busy days. For example, this last Saturday, I didn't have the time for all of Chest and Back. So, I just BROUGHT IT, all out full speed on the first half of Chest and Back. To be frank, I was more sore from this than I was the week prior where I did both rounds of exercises but held back a bit. So, this s a good option for you now and then if you're crunched for time.

My diet has been great. I've been trying to follow "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson I've been eating very clean and other than the slice of peanut butter pie Monica and I shared for our anniversary dinner, my diet has been spot on.

LoseIt App for iPhone. I love it!

I downloaded the LoseIt app for the iPhone last year. Its a great tool. However, through the recent updates, its been made absolutely great.

To give a quick overview, LoseIt tracks your calories in and exercise. When you download the app, you'll first want to set up your profile. That will include your age, height, weight and your fitness goal. I put in my current weight of 207 lbs and my goal weight of 188. I wanted to lose 1.5 lbs a week (a bit aggressive) and it gave me a daily calorie budget of 2112 calories.

Now, you can easily enter every meal. You can even create some of your custom foods. For example; last night I made stuffed green peppers. Monica carefully calculated all the ingredients calorie counts and came up with 252 calories per stuffed pepper. I found in the app a frozen dinner version of a stuffed green pepper and put it at 1 3/4 servings to indicate the same 510 calories I took in by eating 2 of the peppers. (They were damn good, I'll share the recipe later.)

The cool part of the app is the "Friends" section. If you have a spouse or workout partner you are using to keep you accountable, you can set them up as your "Friend." Then you can peek in on them and see if they're using the app. If they don't log in their intake for over a day the app shows them with a red icon under their name. This can help you check in on your friends to keep them accountable and vice versa.

Lastly you can input your exercise. The estimates are a little on the low side. However if you have a heart rate monitor or body bugg you can go in and enter custom exercise numbers. Its a great app.

Ouch...Yikes I'm sore

Hey everyone. My blogging effort lately is going to be limited. My role at work has expanded a lot lately. It's a great thing for me as I recently received a promotion etc. However it has me a lot busier and I don't have as much time for blogging etc. So, you won't get as much of my rambling BS here at toughfitness.com.

Anyway, I wanted to give you a quick report. Monica and I have completed 3 days of P90X and have some Yoga X in store for tonight. I'm so proud of Monica. To see her grunting through Chest and Back, Plyo and Shoulders and Arms makes me so proud of my babe. I couldn't imagine her doing these workouts a year ago. Yet yesterday, she was saying how she didn't have enough weight for an exercise. Way to go Babe!

I have to say my injury set me back a bit. My back isn't bothering me right now, but taking as much time off as I did was necessary. However it has me a lot more sore going though these P90X workouts. On Monday, I could barely straighten my right arm completely. However, P90X works, and yesterday's Shoulders and Arms workout limbered up my arm real quick.

I'll keep you posted. I'll try to get in 2 posts a week at least.

Keep pushing play folks!

John

Worst Blogger Ever

I've been rather busy with work lately. And I've been recovering from my back injury slowly but surely.

I don't have much to report lately. However Monica and I are starting P90X tomorrow. We're going to go through it together day by day. We may continue through the entire program, or stop it when Insanity finally releases. We're not totally sure just right now. We'll feel it out as we go.

Talk to you soon.

John

Healing

The last 10 days have kinda sucked.  I tweaked my back about 10 days ago while running.  I didn't realize it to the next morning when I had some sharp pains in my mid back.  I've been unable to really workout.  However, I'm healing nicely.

I don't have a lot to post today.  However, the lesson is to listen to your body.  If your back hurts so much that at times its hard to breathe, you need to take it easy.  I visited a sports chiropractor and he's helped out a lot.  I still have some more work to do to get my back to 100%, but I'm well on my way.

I'll ease back in to some simple workouts over the next week and I plan on making sure I'm at full strength by the time I get back from Colorado (we're going out for a family wedding the last weekend in May.)

Take care, I'll keep posting.  

John

Flip the mental switch: I'm an athlete!

Monica and I have loved watching this season of the Biggest Loser on NBC. While I get slightly annoyed that the show seems to focus only on weight loss, and less on body fat, the inspiration one can gain from the show is enormous. One thing caught my ear yesterday while watching the finale.

The winner of the show, Helen, said something to the effect of "I'm an athlete now."

Its that simple folks. Helen changed her mental attitude. She now sees herself as an athlete, able to take on any task with some determination.

I don't think I've yet made that switch in mental attitude myself. Sure, I've gotten in great shape. I'm more fit than I have been in a long time. Yet I haven't yet started to think of myself as an athlete.

Making this mental switch is critical. When your mental filter starts to look at the world through the perspective that "I am an athlete," your decision making changes. You start to focus on these factors throughout the day.

When deciding what to eat, you think, "what would an athlete eat?" When you are digging for that extra motivation in your workout, simply letting that inner voice in your head scream "I'M AN ATHLETE!" will make it easier to dig down and find that extra 10% of effort.

Every decision comes from a different motivation when you stop thinking of yourself as someone trying to lose a few pounds, and start focusing on the fact that you are an athlete, and your body is your tool to accomplish your goals.

So, to the world, I'm declaring "I'm an athlete."

Can't wait to see what happens!

Bring it folks.

John

Yardwork X

So, I had a busy weekend these past few days. I got ambitious and decided to pour a small concrete slab in my side yard so my garbage cans have a place to sit. (Joys of home ownership huh guys?)

Well, going back to Thursday, I went for a jog. I did about 2.5 miles, nothing crazy. On my way back I was feeling great and decided to try to keep running ahead of a couple that were leisurely riding their bikes on the street as I ran on the sidewalk. I kept ahead of them for a good half mile, then they realized what I was doing. They sped up, I tried to keep up for maybe another 200 yards and gave up. It was a great little run.

On Friday morning however, I had a real tight back. In fact, I was stuck in one place for about 2 minutes as my back seized up. I managed to get down on the ground, do a cat stretch, and upward dog, and the noises my back made when it popped scared my dog. It was kinda funny.

As Friday went on, my back felt much better. However on Sunday, I was moving a wheel barrow around and my back tightened up yet again. Yup, Yardwork X bit me in the butt. I managed to finish pouring my small concrete slab, but paid the price. I've been taking it easy the last couple days, doing some stretching and slowly easing back into my workouts. I'm going to try to do Burn Intervals tonight with Monica, but will take it easy.

That explains the lack of posts recently. I've been slightly laid up, and feeling like an idiot for managing to get myself a bit injured. I'll be fine though. The one lesson I've learned is that while doing ChaLEAN Extreme, I haven't been doing any Yoga. I think this is a big factor in my injury. I'm going to find a way to fit in some Yoga X into my routine to make sure I stay limber and don't get hurt.

Thanks guys, keep pushing play.

John

Do you need a coach?

Hey everyone. Great to get some good feedback from you through email lately. Thanks to those of you that reach out to me with questions and comments. Also, to whoever actually purchased two of my shirt designs yesterday, another big thanks. That was pretty cool!!

I get this question occasionally. People will have registered at the Team Beachbody website, or become a club member, and never hear from their assigned coach. Let me explain a bit of what is going on. As a coach, I get customers assigned to me now and then. The vast majority are restricted, meaning that Beachbody provides me the name of the customer, but no contact information. So, if Joe Sixpack signs up as a club member, he may have me assigned as his coach. However, if he doesn't want his email to be shared with me, I have no way of reaching out and contacting him.

So, for those of you that want to hear from your assigned coach, make sure to opt in for emails.

However, if you want a specific coach, you can get a new coach assigned to you. I don't want to "take you away" from another coach if you've been working with them. However, if you were assigned to a random coach, and want a new one, send me an email and I'd love to help you on your fitness journey.

On a side note, I'm absolutely loving the Push Phase of ChaLEAN Extreme. Its really forcing me to push my limits and lift heavier than I have in a while. I'm loving the challenge.

Take care my friends, push play, and remember;

Hope is not an action plan.

John

More Insanity

The more I hear about this workout, the more I want to put myself through the ringer and go for it. I was slightly nervous when I started P90X. However, "Insanity" has me terrified yet excited at the same time.

New Coach Alert!!!!

The Tough Fitness Coaching Team is absolutely rocking right now.  We've got another coach in the organization.  Jennifer Jones, welcome to the team.  Check out Jen's Blog!

For any of you wondering "what is this Beachbody coach" thing.  Here's a short video.

If you're interested, send me a quick email and let me know!!

Time to get Extreme Baby!

OK folks, forget what I may have said. The "Push" phase of ChaLEAN Extreme is no joke.

The "burn" phase focuses on synergistic moves, shooting for 12 slow controlled reps. It's a great workout, but not as intense as I was used to during P90X.

I started my first Push workout the other day not knowing what to expect. The warm-up was standard. Then Chalene says to pick a weight for 6-8 reps. First move is bicep curls. I challenged myself, set my power-blocks for 40 lbs each and got started. I've never attempted to curl more than 35 lbs an arm before. To get through 8 reps at 40 lbs an arm was a great feeling. The rest of the workout was similar. I was trying heavier weights than I had ever used before and doing great. Sweat was pouring out everywhere. When I got done with the workout, I knew I had really broken through a mental barrier in my workouts.

The one problem I've been having lately is my diet. Some really exciting things have happened at my work lately and I've been given a lot more responsibility. I've strayed a bit with my diet mainly because my schedule has been all over the place. I haven't been preparing a good healthy lunch. I've been trying to hit up Subway, but I won't lie. The Golden Arches have called my name once or twice and I've given in.

More to come soon. Sorry for the lack of time between posts.

John

BRING IT! Week

As of this afternoon I will have finished up three weeks of ChaLEAN Extreme. In the official schedule, I'd be slated to do one more week of the Burn Phase and then continue on the the Push Phase. As a P90X grad however, I've become accustomed to having "recovery weeks" on the 4th week of a program. The P90X recovery weeks are awesome, not because the workouts are easier, but the fact that they shock the system a bit with different exercises.

I'd argue that the ChaLEAN workouts, while difficult, aren't to the difficulty level of P90X. Also, I don't want to lose the amazing progress I made during P90X in one critical area; pull-ups.

So, I've concocted my own schedule for this 4th week. Instead of a recovery week, I'm going to make it "BRING IT!" Week.

Here's what my schedule for BRING IT week will be.

Day 1: Chest and Back, Ab RipperX
Day 2: Plyometrics
Day 3: Core Synergistics
Day 4: Burn Intervals and Ab Burner from ChaLEAN Extreme
Day 5: Legs and Back
Day 6: Kenpo X
Day 7: Rest/Stretch

This should give my body a good shock and keep the progress coming. It also will have 2 days of workouts with large amounts of pull-ups. I'll keep everyone posted on how this goes.

Thanks for reading.

John

My first week with ChaLEAN Extreme

So, I'm starting to get into the second week of ChaLEAN Extreme.

Let me just say I love this program. Now, as I've said and I will continue to say, I'm a huge P90X fan. But, I sure needed a change of pace to get my mind back in the game. ChaLEAN Extreme has fit the bill.

Let me start off by saying that a lot of guys will probably look at ChaLEAN Extreme, see the cute blond on the cover and think, "This isn't for me, this is for chicks." While the target audience of ChaLEAN extreme is obviously women, the workouts will get your blood flowing and muscles pumping no matter what side you take in the "seat up vs seat down" debate.

As some of my more longtime readers will know, I love the Core Synergistics workout of P90X. What I like so much about Core Synergistics is that the moves always work more than just one body part at a time. That is the philosophy of ChaLEAN Extreme. Every move in the workouts is a synergistic move. You're rarely if ever just working one body part. For example, you'll do a squat with a bicep curl, or a lunge with a deltoid lift etc. These exercise get you working hard and quickly at that.

Another good thing about ChaLEAN is that for some of you that have been working with P90X for one or two rounds may be getting a bit burned out at the time commitment required. P90X requires at least an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes a day. ChaLEAN workouts are considerably shorter. So this could be a great maintenance workout for P90X grads out there.

Take care folks, keep bringing it.