P90X3: Day 1 of 90. Post-Workout. READ THIS!!

This is the ONLY time I will post 2 blogs in one day for P90X3.  Why today?  Because today is critical.

You will feel two ways on Day One.  You will be absolutely psyched before...and a conglomeration of emotions and physical feelings when you finish your first workout.

You all saw my photos.  I am not some Beachbody super-soldier.  I am just like you.  I just finished Total Synergistics.  It's been a long time since I felt this way.  Its been 20 minutes now and my heart is still beating quickly.  My arm muscles are shaking...I am actually supporting my forearms as I type this.

I couldn't do the whole workout.  I had to hit pause a few times...okay, many times.  But, I completed the whole thing.  I didn't do it in the 30 or so minutes...more like 40-45.  Overall, I did pretty good given where I am right now physically.  That's the key.  You are NOT supposed to look like the people on the DVD or do what they can do on Day One.  This is not their first day...it's yours.  What you are looking at, is your goal. Remember that.

In terms of the exercises, like I said, pretty much what I expected.  Arm exercises were pathetic, mainly because they have to exert against about 15-20 lbs more than when I was doing P90X at day 90.  Pullups?  Forget about keeping pace. All I want to do is keep going until I can't do anymore.  I am all lower body weight, and it kills my arms.  All the squat exercises?  Easy. Why?  Because my legs support my larger body weight daily and have been doing it my whole fat life.  Adding 20 lbs to a frame that was about 285 lbs for a good portion of my life is not really a chore.

I wrote a lot today, and my arms are tired.  This was what I blogged on Day One in 2012 after my first day:

"i am too tired to use caps.  i did like, half to three quarters of the workouts until I was burnt.  i don't want to accidentally break or rip something and have to stop.  on one exercise, I could barely do it at all...the ice skating side to side leg raise thingy.  i'm dead, never tried anything like this in my life.  now i am getting some water, vitamins and a protein bar.  ughhhhh.  i WILL get there.
incidentally, I now know why people lose weight on this workout...it's difficult to eat if you can't raise your arms.  good thing they ended with a yoga downward dog stretch...I may have to eat from my dog's bowl for a while.
okay...will let you know how things are tomorrow.  somehow it feels like i may be sore...really?  wow.  genius."  

If you remember one thing today, remember this.  Everyone feels this way and next week, on Day 8, when you do this workout again after having done a week of these routines, you will be shocked at how much better you do.  Trust me.

Today is critical. This is the day when you are most vulnerable to saying, "I can't do this."  Listen closely...YES YOU CAN.  Give it one more week and see how Day 8 feels.  Now, go drink your shake and take some protein.  And hydrate!!  And get your sleep tonight, although I think that might come easy.  All the best!

P90X3: Day 1 of 90. Boy, Did I Screw Up

How did I screw up?  I will answer that one in a minute.  Today is Day One.  Think of it this way, if you commit to the next 90 days, this is the worst you will look for the next three months.  That is the only way you will survive doing your Day One metrics, to include the pics.  Just remember, it's all uphill from here.

So, I got up this morning and weighed myself, took my measurements and took my pictures.  Here are the shots to the left.  I know, most of you will keep these private.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that when it comes to this, I have no shame to speak of.  So you can see how I improve from here.

Here is the other reason I post them.  It helps me follow through.  When I motivate myself, I always make my starting point public.  When everyone else knows your stats and your commitment, you feel an added amount of pride in going the distance and a little more trepidation to let that promise go.  It's like a little more glue, holding you to the process.

I went through a very strict, medically supervised weight-loss program in 2008.  I had to do a liquid diet.  Why?  I was dying.  You can read my blog called "The Tipping Point" by clicking on the link above to read the detail.  The point is, I was SO physically unfit that I could not safely exercise rigorously.  It was causing other medical conditions that were shortening my life.  In that program, most of the people never discussed their weight, or their progress.  They kept it secret.  Those people who never discussed it, well, they either quit the program or failed to lose weight over a long period of time.  Doing the measurements and making them public makes you accountable to yourself in a way that you can't just silently slip away and quit.  It does make a difference.

Okay, how did I screw up?  Take a look at the pics to the left.  I am in worse shape now than when I started P90X in 2012.  I knew I was...deep down.  But, now I REALLY know it.  And so do you.

This is the journey for me in the next 90 days.  It's not some pipe dream, I know I can do it.

Screwing up?  I haven't been this heavy or out of shape since I lost my 85 lbs in 2008.  I let things in my life derail a ton of progress that I had made.  When I look at that 90 day picture, I know that I want THAT back.  I also know that I need a plan to NEVER let it get away again.  Over 50 years old, you lose your 'fitness gains' at an incredible speed if you just plain stop.  You need to make the programs a part of your normal life and you need to make it something achievable.  We will all have the moments when life derails us.  It's not the obstacle, it's how fast you get back up.  I didn't get back up.  Now, here I am, facing the big work one more time.

I do have one advantage that many of you don't have.  I know I can do it.  I've climbed this mountain before.  I also know something about you...you can do it too.  If you just follow along, you will make progress and achieve things you didn't know you could do.  Trust me.

Here is my "gym".  Check out the mat.  It's all measured up and waiting for me.  Notice something on it though, I measured it for Novice, Expert, and a spot in between.  I may have to start at Novice.  We'll see.  If I do, it's not failure, it's just Week One.  That last line is my goal by Day 90.  The line is already drawn.  Just like the photos, it's real and looking me in the face every workout.  So are my weights.  There are weights heavy enough that I may not use them...but they are STILL waiting for the day I can...staring at me.

I also did my measurements.



Day 30, 60, and 90 are waiting.  March 31st is not that far away.  90 seems like a lot.  It's not.  Okay, enough typing.  Time to warm up and get to "Total Synergistics."  Follow along and let me know how YOUR journey is going.  I'll be following you all too!  You are not alone.  Don't stop.

P90X3: Mindset. Your New Body is Thoughts Away

Do you think the toughest part of P90X will be the workouts?  No doubt, they are difficult and challenging.  Would a better diet help?  Yes.  If you were in better shape right now, would the workouts be less difficult?  Yes.  If both of these things were present, would that guaranty your success?  No.  The one thing that will guarantee your success is your MINDSET.  No matter what your physical state of being is, if you are not mentally ready to do this, it will be nearly impossible to succeed.  That statement is not meant to apply only to P90X or P90X3.  It applies to your life.  What you do, in P90X-3, is going to change the way you view everything.

Your body is more energy than it is mass.  Think about that for a minute.  Your body's cells, at the atomic level, are made up of this tiny solid nucleus, surrounded by energy that bonds it to the other atoms.  The space between two atoms is far greater than the size of the atoms.  That energy is a part of this massive neural network in your body that is tied to your brain.  When your brain feels great, it affects all aspects of your body.  Also, when your brain feels awful, you feel that too.  Your brain reacts to whatever you feed it.  Feed it negative stimuli constantly, and your whole body is affected.  Feed it positive stimuli, the inverse.

Also, we do react to the world we live in.  We don't live in some jar, disconnected from external stimuli, and with the luxury and ability to just be a being in peaceful bliss.  That is true.  But, how you process that external stimuli to your brain, that IS in your control and that is your MINDSET.  You can paint almost anything in your life as positive or negative.  That's your choice.

Are you telling me that all I have to do is think positive thoughts to feel better?  Yes.  There is actually some evidence that it can affect physical healing and how your body deals with ailments, but even if you don't buy into that completely, processing in a positive manner will improve how you feel.

This may shock you, but your brain does not know the difference between thought and reality.  Locked away inside your body, your brain reacts to what is fed into it.  Whether you see something "real", or a picture of that same thing, your brain reacts to it the same way.  The same goes for any thoughts you have.  Your brain processes the thoughts you feed it.  Based on those thoughts, your brain then interacts with the neural net in your body and releases various hormones, etc.  Your physical response will react to the thoughts you fed your brain.

This is wonderful!!  How the heck does this relate to P90X??

The physical challenges ahead of you will be greatly assisted by your MINDSET.  If you picture yourself as thinner, in better shape, athletic...your mind will do everything in it's power to get your body there.  You have to do the work, but the physical work you are performing is assisted by the brain and how it programs the energy in your body.  How you view food, how you view exercise, how you process 'pain' and 'soreness'...all of that will dictate your rate of success.  If you constantly are telling yourself, "I want clean food.  Fruit, water, salad, nuts, vegetables.  I am hungry for that," then you will be shocked how your body will condition itself to satisfy that desire.  If you tell yourself, "The soreness and aches don't matter," you will be shocked how your body responds and allows a few more minutes of work, giving you an edge.  If you keep seeing yourself as a thinner person, and really focus on that, your brain will help to deliver that result.

MINDSET.  Find five positive affirmations.  Even if you don't feel them right now, especially if you don't feel them right now, write them down.  How do you want to be and feel ninety days from now?  Make those five short statements something you repeat to yourself over and over.  Make one about diet, make one about exercising, make one about how you want to look, make one about how you feel about yourself, and make one about removing something toxic from your life.  As you are going through your day, begin to see yourself in this way.  Repeat it over and over.  As you do all of the reps of the exercises, tell yourself these things over and over again.  It WILL become you.

Did you ever make up a story and then retell it so many times that you have a hard time distinguishing the reality from the made up?  That's because you told the story so many times that your brain stopped being able to tell the difference between "reality" and what you fed it.  You can tell your brain a different story.

What will your story be?  Write it today, five sentences, and begin making it your story.  Your brain won't know the difference.  And, in 90 days, you will see what that did for you. 
 

P90X3: Eye on the Prize. 3 Days to Go.

Saturday's the day.  For almost all of the group I am doing this with, Monday, January 6th is the P90X3 start date and all will be doing it in unison.  I have done this before, and my optimal start DAY is Saturday.  I like Saturday's because Day 7 in the program is the rest day and I like my rest day to be Friday...so I will be starting on Saturday, January 4th.

Over the next couple of days, I will do a few things to finish my prep.

I need to break out my mat, my weights, my pushup grips (optional, but very effective) my pullup bar and my bands.  Finish watching the DVDs for the first cycle.

Eating right.  This is important.  Write down the shell of an eating plan.  Don't make it so restrictive that you can't follow it.  Just outline your approach to eating.  Read the P90X3 guide for suggestions, but use that to set yourself up for success.  If you do not change your diet one iota, you will change.  You will be burning calories that you normally don't burn and that will have results...but not the results you want.  You have to eat better and you have to eat healthier if you are going to take your body on this 90 day journey.

There is also one thing that people often skip.  Measure yourself with the scale and the tape measure, to include the visual measurement...the photos.

There are a lot of reasons people don't do this.  For many people, this is uncomfortable.  How much do I weigh?  How large am I around the waistline?  Is this what I really look like?  Oh...my...god.  Facing this brings about a lot of thoughts and feelings.  Self loathing is one.  You can't believe you did this to yourself.  Everything you have been telling yourself to fool yourself into thinking you look fine, rationalizing, will go right out the door because the numbers don't lie.  You will hate them.  But, ninety days from now, if you commit, YOU WILL LOVE THEM.  Why?  Because they don't lie...and they will be saying, "Wow...you kicked ass."

And, if you have never done a program like this, without an idea of what you will look like 90 days from now...it can be very DE-motivating.  But, 90 days from now, if you commit, you will change.  YOU WILL CHANGE.  That's why you have to do the measurements and photos.

There will come a time in this program, around week 3, when you realize you are getting better at the routines.  And, you will notice that the pants you have been wearing will have more room in them.  I was in good physical shape when I started P90X but I still got asked by my closest friends, "What are you doing?  Are you losing more weight or something?"  Your first set of program pictures, at 30 days, will look better, but maybe not great.  I was already in pretty good shape, so I didn't see a lot of change...at least not what I was expecting to see.  But the change was there.  Everyone else noticed it.

At the 60 day mark, I was really pushing hard because I felt like a million bucks and was starting to see it in the pictures.  By 90 days, I didn't want it to end.

Do all the measurements before you start.  Learn to love the numbers because, when you are done, they are the evidence of your success.  When you can't visually SEE all the results you want, the numbers will reflect progress.

One last thing.  If you have never done this before, fix an image of yourself in your mind...a realistic one...of what you would like to look like 90 days from now.  Think about that image every time you are working out.  SEE yourself looking just like that.  Your body will deliver what your mind conceives.  In 90 days, if you don't look exactly like that, don't be discouraged.  Acknowledge how far you have come, and then keep going.  It's about the journey...so plan another routine (Insanity, T25, Les Mills, etc.) but, keep going.

I start on Saturday.  If you haven't done this before, I can tell you this much.  It's not a commercial, and it's not some joke with fake pictures and professionally managed results.  It works.  It works on regular people.  It works at home.  It's going to work on you.  My pictures are attached today of my P90X experience.  I am psyched to get back to this photo because, I am not there right now and, more importantly, THAT's how I see myself in my mind's eye.  Eye on the prize.  I will be here for the whole ride with you!