During the past 64 days, we have found certain tools very useful to help us along the way, with diet and fitness. People ask me all the time what is needed for success in the program, so I will go over this in some detail in two sections, nutrition and fitness.
Nutrition
The biggest and most significant challenge for me with respect to P90x has been the nutrition plan. Although I have not followed it to the letter, I have been conscious of everything I've put in my body, and have made much better decisions on food since we started. As I have mentioned before, P90X is hard work, and the last thing I want to do is negate the effects of these intense workouts with a poor diet. Here are some key tools along with some brief descriptions with respect to proper nutrition in the context of P90X.
- Cliff Builder's Bars - If you are doing resistance training, you need protein, and plenty of it. One of the key aspects of general nutrition is making sure not to starve yourself. The Cliff Builder's bars are a great snack with 20 grams of protein in every serving. They taste better than any of the bars we tried, and they are relatively inexpensive. They are fairly caloric at 270 calories / bar, but if you're doing this program, you will need it. They are a great alternative to the P90X bars advertised within the program, which are quite expensive. Although I cannot comment on how the P90X bars taste, the Cliff Bars have the nutritional value necessary to supplement the program perfectly while tasting great in their own right. So far, my favorite flavors are the Vanilla Almond, Cookies & Cream, and Mint Chocolate.
- GNC Lean Shakes - These are the ultimate in meal replacement shakes. They are inexpensive (roughly $1.75 / bottle), have 25 grams of protein in the ready-made versions from GNC, and if that weren't enough, they taste delicious! They are my absolute favorite nutritional tool, and we now make sure to keep them stocked in the refrigerator. I've had these many times for lunch, and they do a great job of filling the stomach. At only 170 calories / bottle and plenty of vitamins, this is should be a welcome addition to the array of snacks and foods you will need for this or any fitness program.
- V8 Juice / Jack Lalanne Power Juicer - When we initially began the program, my wife started buying V8 Juice, which I have always been disgusted by. However, the low-sodium version is a much lesser evil and is certainly tolerable taste-wise. For us, we needed a quick way to get a day's worth of veggies in because frankly, we'd forget to eat them all day long. I've always liked vegetables, but with our busy lifestyle, we have become accustomed to quick-prep meals and meals on-the-go. V8 Juice was an ideal supplement to the workouts since vegetables are vital for proper nutrition. The Power Juicer was a gift I bought my wife for our anniversary last week, and we have yet to use it. However, I have heard fantastic things about it from people who have it, and I am looking forward to replacing the V8 with better-tasting homemeade vegetable and fruit concotions.
- Water - Water is a huge component of not only this program, but general fitness. I'm not going to get on a soapbox about the health benefits of drinking more water, but I've never felt better since I've been drinking more of it. I've never been a big soda drinker, and don't drink alcohol, so drinking water almost exclusively is relatively easy for me. I won't say I haven't had a soda or two since we started, but drinking only water has serious advantages for wellness and vitality.
Roughly a year-and-a-half ago, I decided I might try P90X, so I began to purchase some of the tools necessary. I can now say confidently that I am using all of them. In this section, I will highlight the fitness tools I use daily for P90X. The program manual is very explicit about what you will need, includinng weights or resistance bands, a pull-up bar, yoga mat, yoga blocks, and adequate space. What it doesn't tell you is how expensive free weights are. However, considering the price of gym memberships, not to mention gas to and from and the time wasted getting there, turning your home into a gym is fairly cost-effective. Here are the essentials for making that happen:
- Powerblock, Classic 50 Version - Initially, I bought resistance bands from Sports Authority, and I found them to be useless. Maybe it was because they were cheap, but I just did not feel like I was doing any real resistance training. Because of this, I started to look at free weights. I found a deal at Wal-Mart for a Gold's Gym set that could go to either 5, 15, or 20 pounds for $40. This was great for the first phase, but the weight was much too light, and I was doing a lot of reps just to feel a burn in many exercises. I had looked at adjustable weights since we started the program, but decided it was a little too expensive initially. However, after realizing that we were going to keep bringing it, I had to make the purchase. Sport Chalet has the Classic 50 Powerblock for $299.00. This is as good of a deal as I found anywhere for this set. After doing a lot of research on adjustable dumbbells, the Powerblock was the consensus best option for P90X. Now that I have used them for a week and a half, I completely agree. I gave the 5, 15, 20 pound set to my wife, and she uses those for now. Poweblock makes a 2-24 lb set that would be ideal for her, and she'll probably get it for her birthday in August (don't worry, she hates surprises, so it's not a big deal if she sees this). The best thing about the Powerblocks is that they adjust very quickly and take up very little space.
- Iron Gym Pull-Up Bar - Another tool that is an absolute must for P90X is a good pull-up bar. I purchased the Iron Gym home version a while back, and it works well for both my wife and I. After barely being able to do 1 or 2, I can now do 10 without issue. The only drawback is that at 6'2", I can't get the bar high enough to let my legs hang freely, so I have to bend them at the knees to keep from touching the ground. This took some getting used to, but it works just fine. Also, using a small stool to modify certain types of pull-ups worked well initially. I am happy to report, however, that I no longer need to modify any of the pull-ups!
- Yoga Mat - We have hardwood floors, so a yoga mat is a must for us. We purchased cheap ones from Sports Authority, and I'm thinking that I may begin to look for a tackier style that doesn't slide as easily. I do like the thickness of it as it is easy on the knees, but it may be time to graduate to a higher-end model for durability's sake.
By this time, our bodies crave the workouts, and we still haven't missed a day. We have under a month left, and people are really beginning to notice changes in our bodies. I will say that some nutritional lapses have kept me from getting the truly eye-popping weight loss results I was looking for so far, but I also know that losing 22 pounds thus far while surely gaining a fair amount of muscle is no joke. Now is the time to dig deep and really bring it, as the doubles have increased to four days out of the week for phase 3. For round 2 of P90X, we will do the classic version, and that will be a nice "break".
Until next time...
