I'm down. I have gotten into horrible shape. Not Curry fat mind you, just out of shape.

i'm 3 weeks into p90x. it's HARDCORE. it's a program built on proper diet and something called muscle confusion - where you do a variety of exercises that basically burn you out.

you workout 6 days a week for about 1 hour each day. different parts of the body each day. you'll need the bands or dumbbells (this is where those adjustable dumbbells like bowflex selecttech's come in really handy). alot of pushups, pullups, chinups. alot of plyometrics (jumping, squating, etc).

everything is done in your house/apartment. just make sure that when you do the jumping exercises, your neighbors downstairs don't mind.

this workout will kick your ass...

it's a 90 day program broken up into three 4 week phases. (and obviously, after the 90 days are up, you can repeat it or do some exercises to maintain)

1st phase is to get you used to the exercises. and you eat a mainly protein diet. 3 weeks of exercises followed by a week of core/aerobic stuff. your body starts changing here and you start the fat burn process.

2nd phase ups your carbs a bit more and makes you push with some new exercises mixed in. 3 weeks of that then 1 week of core/aerobic stuff. this is where your body is supposed to really start changing.

3rd phase is where you basically bring it.

if you look at all the websites out there w/ all the before and after pics - it's quite amazing. this is different than all the other stuff out there b/c you have to bust your ass. if you don't, you don't get the results. and you should follow the diet plan. it not only builds muscle, makes you stronger and gets you cut, you burn a ton of fat and you strengthen your core and become way more flexible. it's really an impressive plan.

again, this is HARDCORE and i'm only 3 weeks into it...but have already noticed some big time changes.

and, this workout is so intense that you can basically cancel your gym membership - no joke. eny, i'm glad you made a thread on this. i was going to do one after i finish it to give a full review. but so far, so good.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 10-01-2008 10:32 AM]

Nice DJ.....I was thinking of getting the videos anyway as a way to break the routine of pumping iron. My contract at the gym is up in feb or march so I'll probably get the vids then.

I'm a lazy sob......but I'm motivated again. I've been going through some changes and my physical is seriously lagging behind.

I'm on a 5 day split now:
1.shoulders/traps
2.legs/cavs
3. Back
4.chest/abs
5. Triceps, biceps, forearms

I officially started yesterday. I gave my shoulders/traps a nice beat down. I'm sore today. I'm doing what muscle fitness is telling me to do to the T.......though its not much of change from a routine I would notmally do.....I'm just locked in and more intense. Not wasting time staring off into space.

My diet is hard cuz I'm too lazy to cook for myself....but I'm making smarter choices with what I have around me. I'm actually down to 195lbs.....I was 215lbs in early august. 20lbs right? But I'm still out of shape big time. The weight doesn't matter.......

What matters according to the challenge......is that we prove to Eddy "Chicken" Curry what it is to be a bad ass mofo. Can you dig it?

I think I've posted more about exercise than the Knicks this past year... but, it's important.

The thing I hate about routines like the p4634u is that it is damned near impossible to maintain that style of workout and diet for longer than the program. I believe the purpose of exercise and diet is to maintain a lifestyle improvement, not to make a drastic improvement only to watch that improvement slip away.

Wha I recommend is to look how you can improve your lifestyle in a way you know you can commit to for years and years. Like with diet, instead of saying "I can't eat chocolate today, tomorrow, or a month from now," maybe you could try "I'll eat some chocolate, but it has to be 70 or 80 percent cocoa." I guarantee you'll be able to maintain that, and you probably won't eat as much because you are allowing yourself to eat it... because we all know when we try not to eat something, we end up eating a lot more than we normally would have to begin with on the first bad day.

Likewise with exercise, maybe when you were in high school you could dedicate an hour+ six days a week to exercise, but I know I can't anymore. Why not figure out a way to get into the gym four days a week and work really hard for half-an-hour to forty-five minutes? For me, it's a mile sprint (I hate running... not really cardio, but I suppose running a mile is better than not running at all), various ab work, and heavy, double, and speed bag work. Or, because I hurt my forearm, I lift and base those exercises around bench press, squats, deadlifts and 21s, going into lighter higher isolation exercises. Each of those routines is 10-12 reps (til failure) and I try to take only a minute of rest between each set.

And I'm typically able to maintain these routines because it isn't pervasive. Routines like q234^5tpx are a great short term fix, but people tend to feel accomplished after its completion as well as burnt out, so that progress is tends to be short lived.

may i suggest this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com

you have to sign up (it's free) but you can log in your diet. they have a huge database of foods so you can easily put in what you eat every day. it's a pretty cool way to keep track of what you eat and how the calories are broken up. try it for a week - it's kind of interesting to actually see in #'s what's going into your body. it might be a good way to figure out what you can cut out and what you're deficient in.



[Edited by - djsunyc on 10-01-2008 12:37 PM]

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by SupremeCommander:

I think I've posted more about exercise than the Knicks this past year... but, it's important.

The thing I hate about routines like the p4634u is that it is damned near impossible to maintain that style of workout and diet for longer than the program. I believe the purpose of exercise and diet is to maintain a lifestyle improvement, not to make a drastic improvement only to watch that improvement slip away.

Wha I recommend is to look how you can improve your lifestyle in a way you know you can commit to for years and years. Like with diet, instead of saying "I can't eat chocolate today, tomorrow, or a month from now," maybe you could try "I'll eat some chocolate, but it has to be 70 or 80 percent cocoa." I guarantee you'll be able to maintain that, and you probably won't eat as much because you are allowing yourself to eat it... because we all know when we try not to eat something, we end up eating a lot more than we normally would have to begin with on the first bad day.

Likewise with exercise, maybe when you were in high school you could dedicate an hour+ six days a week to exercise, but I know I can't anymore. Why not figure out a way to get into the gym four days a week and work really hard for half-an-hour to forty-five minutes? For me, it's a mile sprint (I hate running... not really cardio, but I suppose running a mile is better than not running at all), various ab work, and heavy, double, and speed bag work. Or, because I hurt my forearm, I lift and base those exercises around bench press, squats, deadlifts and 21s, going into lighter higher isolation exercises. Each of those routines is 10-12 reps (til failure) and I try to take only a minute of rest between each set.

And I'm typically able to maintain these routines because it isn't pervasive. Routines like q234^5tpx are a great short term fix, but people tend to feel accomplished after its completion as well as burnt out, so that progress is tends to be short lived.

while this may be the case, i will say this about the p90x - it's not this restriction type diet. it's a portion plan where you eat 4-5 smaller meals a day. it doesn't say, don't eat this or that. it says eat in portions and space it out during the day. the only guidelines is that in the first 30 days, eat more protein (since processing protein breaks down more fat)...then it has you up your carbs as you continue with the program. once your done with the 90 days, you can switch to the workout you described above to maintain what you've gained from the p90x. it wasn't designed to do repeatedly over and over unless you want to. the program is not designed for everybody. it's designed for those that are serious about getting in the best shape of their lives.

but you're right, 6 days a week for 1 hour a day is tough for anybody to do. luckily i have the free time but most don't. but even your plan is tough to accomplish as well for anybody finding it tough to actually put in the work to exercise. it all depends on the type of physical shape you want to get into. but forget about all the exercise stuff in general, i think the biggest challenge for americans is diet. people can't control their portions nor control what they put in their mouth. if you want to break it down, then that's the first thing people should do. learn how to eat and when to eat...then start incorporating a workout regimen that suits your lifestyle.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 10-01-2008 12:30 PM]

I agree *completely* with diet being the biggest challenge to Americans, specifically portion size. Really, most people do not know how much meat they need in a meal. when they see how "small" it is they're shocked, but then when they eat that size a few times they realize they are completely satiated and really didn't need any more (the correct portion size for meat is the size of your fist).

The biggest problem though is in America, we tend to buy food product instead of food. Very few people buy fresh meat, fresh dairy, fresh produce, etc. and instead buy this wrapped, processed food product. They have no clue what they are putting into their bodies or how to be nourished without going to some corporation taht has mastered the art of cutting costs. I mean, it's now cheaper to go to the supermarket, buy fresh produce, cheese, buns, and chopped beef to make a cheeseburger that is substantially better for you than McDonald's, but people are so conditioned to rely on this food product. They'll wait in line for half an hour at the drive through in some places (like in the south)... I mean, what's a value meal now? Like $7? I just don't see the point to rely on food product as much as the average American does. Every now and again I love to eat that crap when I really want it, but that helps me avoid eating it in excess.

DJ push your cab uphill for five minutes a day and on friday use a rickshaw and that is a better workout for you.

Damn, my weight is at the moment 195 lbs (89 kgs), which is a whole lot for my height (between 5-10 and 5-11). I really need to get at least to 176 lbs (80 kg), but its not realistic for me to achieve that in 3 months. I just dont have time, money nor the proper items to do it. I hope my static bike and changing my diet can do something about it, but in the long term.

Posted by DarkKnicks:

Damn, my weight is at the moment 195 lbs (89 kgs), which is a whole lot for my height (between 5-10 and 5-11). I really need to get at least to 176 lbs (80 kg), but its not realistic for me to achieve that in 3 months. I just dont have time, money nor the proper items to do it. I hope my static bike and changing my diet can do something about it, but in the long term.

if you run 30 mins a day for 3 months, you will easily lose the weight (with proper diet of course). static bike is ok, but you will have to do that for an hour to get the benefits of 30 mins of jogging. i'm 6'1 and at my worst, weight 207 lbs. running for 3 months, i was down to 177.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 10-01-2008 1:20 PM]