Well, it’s been awhile since I posted pics so here you go. Even though my current pic looks very similar to my day 90 pic, a lot has changed…

For starters, I am no longer strict on my nutrition 24/7. I only cheated about 4-5 times during my first 90 days of P90X. I would say I cheat once or twice a week now. Also, my strength has increased significantly since day 90. I am still very much committed to exercising but I feel like my new workout regime is secondary to my lifestyle. I pretty much lived my life around P90X during the first 90 days of the program…but I think you have to if you want to see the changes you wish for. In order to see a significant body transformation, you MUST make some serious changes to both your workouts and nutrition plan. 90 days may seem like a very long time when you are participating in P90X but think about it…it’s only 90 days of your life, that’s nothing. I think if you can dig deep and complete the program, it will change your life long after the 90 days. I have a few friends that also completed 90 days of P90X and they decided to do the upcoming triathlon with me. When you participate in an extreme fitness program like P90X, it’s hard to stop cold turkey so when you continue on with exercising and eating well on a regular basis it becomes part of your lifestyle without much effort.

                DAY 1                        DAY 90                  DAY 180

Finally, I did not have a chance to do ARX last night so I started the morning off by doing it and I finally completed 100% of it! The only problem I see with this now is the pressure to complete it everytime…bring it!

Now for the updated pics and measurements…

To be honest, I am somewhat disappointed with my results. I worked harder than ever these past 30 days (credit the 40lb vest) and I thought I would have seen more of an increase in muscle mass. My arms grew ¼” and my chest 1″ when compared to my day 90 measurements so I should be happy with that….maybe my expectations were too high?? I was shocked to see my weight drop 1 pound since my day 90 weight though. Not only did I cut out “doubles”, I am eating a bit more during the week and allowing myself a cheat meal every weekend. This is a sign that my metabolism is pretty much on fire right now. I guess this is a good thing to have, I just need to eat more to compensate for that.

I probably should increase my daily calorie intake with high quality foods but I may hold off from doing so until I see my day 150 measurements and pics. I have always struggled to keep weight off so I do not want to rush back to gaining it. If you told me all I would gain is muscle weight, I would do it but it’s almost impossible to just gain muscle weight…fat weight always comes with it. The practice among bodybuilders is that they cycle both thier nutrition plan and workouts. They will gain both muscle and fat during their offseason program and then go on a strict diet a few months before competition to lose all of that excess fat they gained while maintaining thier muscle mass weight. I have thought about attempting something similar but I quickly realized that I am just an average married guy working 9-5 with two kids so why would I commit myself to a program like that??

However, I will continue to commit myself to P90X.

(Click here to order P90X)

Here are my Day 120 measurement:
Weight – 192 lbs                     (Day1–220lbs)
Chest – 44″                                (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 3/4″              (Day1-16″)
Left arm – 16 3/4″                 (Day 1 -16″)

Here are my Day 120 pics… (more…)

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…)

I am happy with my measurements these past two weeks…I lost another 4 pounds, cut my waist size another 1/2 inch, gained an inch on my chest, and my body fat dropped a bit. The last time I was below the 200 pound mark was freshman year in high-school!

Instead of doing two cardio-x sessions this morning, I ended up doing one core synergistics routine. At the end of the day, I pretty much burned the same amount of calories and that is the goal of doing “doubles”…burn extra calories. You could even replace cardio-x with a walk, jog, or cardio on an elliptical-type machine…do what works for you.

Also – I feel like I have to say this every time but “no chance” my body fat percentage is that low but it has dropped significantly.

Here are my Day 70 measurements:

Body fat % – 5% (Day 1 – 18%)

Weight – 198 lbs (Day 1 – 220lbs)

Chest – 43″ (Day 1 – 40″)

Waist – 351/2  (Day 1 -391/2″)

Right thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Left thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Right arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Left arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Here are my Day 70 Pictures:

(more…)

Okay, I am not trying to sell myself short but there is no chance my body fat percentage is 6%, it’s definitely higher. What is accurate is the fact it dropped 12% though. I lost 2 pounds since day 42 and trimmed an additional inch off my waist so I am happy with those results.

My arms measured 1/4 inch smaller (when compared to day 28 & 42) so I can’t say I am thrilled about that. I did do “doubles” this past month and it’s very difficult to build muscle when you are doing a lot of cardio. I am going to decide tonight whether or not to do “doubles” in phase 3…which starts tomorrow. If I do, I will most likely start having a protein shake right before bedtime, your muscles do all of their growing when you are sleeping and think of a protein shake as food for your muscles. I held off from having a nighttime shake up until this point because I did not want to consume those extra calories that come with it but my arms measuring 1/4 inch smaller is a reason to start it.   

Here are my Day 56 measurements:

Body fat % – 6% (Day 1 – 18%)

Weight – 202 lbs (Day 1 – 220lbs)

Chest – 42″ (Day 1 – 40″)

Waist – 36  (Day 1 -391/2″)

Right thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Left thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Right arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Left arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Here are my Day 56 Pictures: (more…)