I wanted to share this recipe that was posted on the site’s forum from a fellow P90Xer (drisc)…

1/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
3 TBL fat-free chocolate syrup
3 scoops chocolate protein powder (I used whey protein)
1 – 1 1/2 TBL water  (you may need more…I think probably closer to 3 TBL)

In small bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate syrup. Add the protein and enough water to moisten slightly. Place mixture on waxed paper or plastic wrap, and knead by hand for a few seconds to blend ingredients. Form into four bars of small rectangles either by hand or rolling mixture with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Wrap each bar in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator to preserve freshness.  I put in freezer for 30 minutes before eating and it came out great.

Makes 4 bars

Per Bar: Calories  170 / Protein 17 grams / Carbs 13grams / Fat 6grams

Seeing that I already have the ingredients, my plan is to make a batch tonight.

Thanks for sharing Drisc!

Whether you are a health nut or a rookie on nutrition, I highly recommend counting your calories for the first two weeks or so (longer if possible) of P90X. In most cases, people consume a lot more calories than they think and counting every single calorie that enters your mouth helps you realize that. The days of counting calories manually are over, you no longer have to write down the nutrition facts from the nutrition label and then add them up at the end of the day. There are many FREE calorie counter programs out there and the one I use is “My Plate” at http://www.livestrong.com/. This is a free program that pretty much has every food in its database…even the Beachbody nutrition supplements. Not only does it give you your total calorie count, it breaks it down by carbohydrates, protein, and fat…as well as gives you the protein/carbs/fat ratio in a graphical display.

Seeing that my focus is on building muscle mass in round 2 of P90X, I am going to try to at least consume my body weight in protein. I currently weigh 193 pounds so I am going to shoot for at least 200 grams a day. I also want to maintain my body fat percentage so even though I am going to consume more calories (when compared to round 1 of P90X), I am not going to overdo it. There is a fine line between eating enough to build muscle and eating too much to not only build muscle but to add fat as well. Unfortunately, this “fine line” is different for everyone and is hard to determine.

Speaking from experience (round 1), it’s a lot easier to maintain a healthy eating regimen when you plan your meals ahead of time. Below is pretty much what I will be eating during my second round of P90X. I will be eating something different for dinner every night but for the most part, the food I eat during the day will remain the same.

The times are not exact but I do try to eat every couple of hours or so.

5:00am                 -Whey protein mixed with skim milk
5:30am                 -P90X Workout
6:45am                 -P90X Recovery Drink
8:00am                 -FiberOne Bar
                                    -Casein protein mixed with skim milk
10:00am               -Banana or Apple
12:00am               -Seasoned grilled chicken breast (6-8oz) over lettuce (about 2 cups) with lite Italian dressing
                                    -Chobani Nonfat Plain Yogurt           
3:00pm                 -Low Fat Mozzarella String Cheese
5:30pm                 -Mainly Turkey Products (ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey burger, turkey meatballs etc…).
                                    If not turkey, it would be pasta, fish, or chicken.
                                    -2-3 servings of fresh vegetables (spinach, asparagus, broccoli, green beans)
                                    -Sweet potato / white potato on occasion
6:00pm                 -I eat salad if I am still hungry
8:00pm                 -Low Calorie Snack (mini rice cakes, fat free popcorn, etc…)
10:00pm              -Casein protein mixed with water
                                   -Sleep

Total Calories – 1,956        
Total Carbs – 184g              
Total Protein – 219g          
Total Fat – 34g

The calorie total is based on having a turkey burger on a 100 calorie english muffin with spinach and asparagus for dinner and mini rice cakes for a small snack in the evening. Now, in order to build muscle I will need to consume a lot more calories than this so I am going to allow myself a cheat meal once a week. This cheat meal will fall on either a Friday or Saturday night. This will allow me to enjoy my weekends a bit more as well as increase my weekly calorie intake.

*Casein protein is a slow digestive protein that helps balance your protein intake throughout the day/night. Unlike whey protein which enters your bloodstream in 15 minutes and peaks within an hour, casein peaks between 3 to 4 hours and can stay in your bloodstream for up to 7 hours. The best time to take casein protein is right before bedtime. Sleep is primetime when it comes to the muscle building process so you can enhance this process by letting your muscles feed off casein protein all night long. Don’t be confused, whey protein is the protein of choice to take right before and/or after an intense workout.

Click on the following supplement for more information…

Whey Protein

P90X Recover Drink

Casein Protein

Seeing that P90X is marketed as a “get ripped in 90 days” program, it should be no surprise that there is a decent amount of cardio involved. To start, I eliminated a cardio workout and replaced it with an additional resistance training routine. I believe tweaking this program a bit will make P90X MASS just as effective with building muscle as the classic P90X version is with getting you ripped!

If you haven’t already read “P90X MASS – Building Muscle with P90X (Part 1)”, click here to do so…

I will assume you read P90X MASS part 1 and understand the basic components of building muscle mass with P90X. I wanted to create a P90X MASS (Part 2) document to dive deeper into the actual workout routines. It would have been very easy to customize a P90X MASS program if everybody had access to free weights and/or a gym. I realize most people doing P90X do not have this type of equipment and/or gym access so I wanted to customize a routine that requires the same equipment as the standard P90X version…one additional accessory that could be used is a weighted exercise vest.

P90X MASS will be working some muscle groups twice a week so it’s very important to consume some sort of post workout recovery drink immediately following each workout. I take the P90X Recovery Drink and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for one, click here for more info…

Day 1 – Heavy Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps (6-8 Reps)  / Ab Ripper X
This workout is considered a heavy day so focus on 6-8 reps. Conduct all push-ups with a 3-4 count. Lower your body slowly (count to 3-4) and raise it back up with a 2-3 count. A weighted vest could be worn throughout this whole workout, it will add heavier resistance to both the chest and tricep exercises. If you find yourself doing a lot more than 8 reps on some of the tricep and chest exercises that do not require weights, slow down the motion a bit by increasing the count.

Day 2 – Heavy Back & Bi’s (6-8 Reps) 
This workout is considered a heavy day so focus on 6-8 reps and the weighted exercise vest is optional on the pull-ups. Make sure you use a weight heavy enough that you fail on reps 6-8. If you use a weight that you can only muscle up 4 reps, take a break and do 2-3 more.

Day 3 – Your Choice (Yoga-X, Kenpo-X, Jogging, Biking, Etc…) / Ab Ripper X
I think it’s very important to incorporate your favorite fitness activity into this program. Whether it’s walking, jogging, swimming, and/or biking, do what you prefer. The goal is to have you look forward to this day. Treat this day as a cardio and/or rest day, do not lift weights. If you are happy with your body fat percentage, consider doing yoga-x or even taking the day off. Too much cardio hinders muscle growth, especially if you do not have much fat on your body.

Day 4 – Heavy Legs (6-8 Reps)
This workout is considered a heavy day so focus on 6-8 reps and wear a weighted vest if you have one. Follow the “Legs & Back” video and just cut out the back exercises. Use dumbbells for added weight during the leg exercises Tony gives the option on. Using this much weight will require longer breaks in between sets so cutting out the back exercises is a must.

Day 5 – Light Shoulders & Arms (12-15 Reps) / Ab Ripper X
This workout is considered a light day so focus on 12-18 reps. The goal is to shock the body by doing the complete opposite of the heavy days. Make sure you use a weight that you can at least do 12 reps with.

Day 6 – Plyometrics
Weighted exercise vest is optional.

Day 7 – Rest Day or X-Stretch (more…)

Even though I worked out 5 days last week (3 four mile runs, 2 lifting days), it’s not the same as doing P90X…I feel like I am slacking. I know round 2 will be here before I know it so I am trying to enjoy this time away from P90X.

Between going out to lunch and dinner a couple of times last week and pretty much eating more overall during the week, I am happy to say I did not gain any weight. My metabolism is still screaming from my first round of P90X so I know that plays a significant role with not gaining any weight this past week. What also plays a role is the fact that maintaining your results is a lot easier to accomplish than improving your results.

My Tony Horton Power Stands arrived last week and I have to say I am really impressed with them! They are extremely durable (no fear of tipping) and are very high for super deep push-ups…you could also do tricep dips with them. The handles are also padded for comfort. I knew I was getting a solid set of push-up stands but after seeing how big they were and the material used, they far exceeded my expectations. I banged out a few sets with them this morning and I started feeling a burn after 10 or so reps…compared to 30 or so without them (click here for more info) .

P90X MASS starting in 7 days (March 1st, 2010)

I just completed my first round of P90X!

I love how I feel both physically and mentally right now. I am very happy with my 90 day measurements and I am most impressed with my new eating habits. I ended up losing 27 pounds and 5 1/2 inches off my waist…I am currently at a weight that I have not been since 8^th – 9^th grade (with a lot more muscle). I would definitely say my cardiovascular endurance is at an all time high and I have never had this much definition in my abdomen area.  Needless to say, I would highly recommend this program to anyone that is serious about getting in shape.

(Click here to order P90X)

Here are my Day 90 measurement:
Body fat % – 3%**                 (Day1–18%)
Weight – 193 lbs                     (Day1–220lbs)
Chest – 43″                                (Day1–40″)
Waist – 34″                                (Day1-391/2″)
Right thigh – 24 1/2″          (Day1-271/2″)
Left thigh – 24 1/2″              (Day1-271/2″)
Right arm – 16 1/2″              (Day1-16″)
Left arm – 16 1/2″                 (Day 1 -16″)

**I tested my body fat in the same spot as day 1 so it has dropped 15%, it’s just not 3%…it’s higher.

Day 90 Pre-Fit Test
Pull-Ups - 21                                (Day1 -10)
Vertical Leap – 20 1/2″         (Day1 -17 ½”)
Push-Ups – 76                            (Day1 –54)
Toe Touch -  +4                        (Day1 -+3 ½)
Wall Squat - 2:27                      (Day1 -1:06)
Bicep Curls -  14  reps            (Day1 -9 reps) 95lb straight bar curls
Ab Test – 94 reps                     (Day1 -51 reps)

What’s  Next? – I am going to take two weeks off from P90X (continue to workout though) prior to starting another round of it. I am going to shift my focus from losing fat to building muscle in this round. Now, my goal is to achieve both but it’s very difficult to accomplish that so my primary focus will be more on building muscle. For starters, I am going to increase my calorie intake. In order to build muscle, you 100% need to consume more calories. It was easy for me to be strict as far as nutrition went during the work week so I am going to maintain that discipline and throw in a casein (slow digestive) protein shake right before bedtime for additional calories. I also plan on incorporating a cheat meal once a week which will most likely fall on a Friday or Saturday night. This will not only increase my calorie intake for the week but it will also allow me to eat out every so often. It’s very difficult to be strict with your nutrition when you take your family out to dinner and/or meet up with friends so this approach will account for that.

Here are my Day 90 pics… (more…)