Insanity vs. P90X

[Yukari]

Originally Posted by Leftygolfer

It does take a long time for sure. My guy said if I'd stick with the diet 100% I could lose 10 pounds of fat in a month. The best I did with him was I went from 17.4 to 14.7 in 6 weeks. But I haven't stuck with it. I don't have the motivation and eating ulra healthy is expensive. Lean protein is high, nuts are expensive, and fruit is too. Plus i'm married and she doesn't care. She's happy with me at 200 as it is still mucher thinner than I was two years ago. I still eat well and lift alot but I have way to many cheats to see change in my body fat. I'm getting thicker in good places, just not leaner.

How long do you lift per day?  I started lifting more lately (about 30 minutes of lifting and 30 minutes of cardio).  BMI of 14.7 is still darn good.  I am trying to get to BMI of about 12 or so.  Looks like a pretty steep uphill battle...

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by Yukari

By the way, JetFan1983--congratulations on yesterday's Jets victory over the Colts!

As I life long fan, I'm just always waiting for the other shoe to drop. That said, watch me get roped in yet again this year only to get crushed in the end....

Originally Posted by gwlee7

Jet fan,

P90x has really become such a part of our daily lives that we feel weird when we stop doing it.

Remember, there are lots of ways to do P90x and if you need to use bands instead of weights to help through an injury, who cares.

After about 8 weeks straight of P90X and solid nutrition, I hit a stride where it all finally became habit. The only reason I stopped the momentum after six months was because the golf season had started, and it's very difficult for me to incorporate both working out and golf into my life.

Agreed on modification being very key with P90X. I had to use the chair for four months for pull-ups until I could do them on my own.

The funny thing is, for your height, you being around 180 lbs. is very healthy, in the medical sense. The visible six pack is obviously not necessary for anyone

***

Just some helpful random tips to add to the thread:

1) There are 3500 calories in one pound of fat

2) This is a generalization, but at around 9-10% body fat, most adult males can see their entire six pack.

3) Reducing body fat% is kind of like lowering your handicap in golf. Each "stroke" you shave off is just that much harder than the previous one. Going from 25% to 24% is fairly easy. But going from 13% to 12% is hard. I got to about 13-14% before I just gave up. This is the point in the journey where you have to be more focused than ever on your goals. Unfortunately for me, my motivation levels after six months had waned a bit.

Going from 250 lbs. to 200 lbs. though can be accomplished in 3-5 months by your typical human male who has the time to exercise 4 times a week while also watching his calories. For that same male though, getting from 200 to 150 lbs. could possibly take him another year or more.

EDIT: I'm assuming that the arbitrary adult male I'm using in the above example is also lowering his body fat% as he lowers his total weight.

Also, the crudity of my example can be illustrated in the part where I talk about him going from 200 to 150. In reality, going from 200 to about 170 seems more correct. He will be stuck on a certain weight for maybe a month or more at a time. Assuming his workout program and nutrition plan are solid though, no change in weight on the scale will likely occur despite him lowering his overall body fat%. So in reality, going from 200 to 170 can take that person a year+.

One's weight can be a very misleading thing when trying to gauge progress.

I am assuming this person's workout program primarily consists of lifting weights. Adding muscle while decreasing fat often can lead to no changes on the scale for periods longer than 30 days.

[JetFan1983]

I was just re-reading what I wrote earlier this morning. I made a lot of generalizations and simplifications in my example of a guy going from 250 to 170. I should have been more specific. Every individual journey is different.

Let's say this 250 lbs. male is 5'7" or 5'8". He's your standard "hardgainer" (which is most of us).

Basically, my point was while it is important to monitor your weight, eventually the scale stops being an effective measure of your progress at some point for everyone. Body fat calipers can help measure some progress. A tape measure can as well. Your waist will be shrinking for example while your weight may not change significantly.

This image can help hit home for some people. It's 5 lbs. of fat next to 5 lbs. of muscle. As you can see, muscle is a lot more dense.

Muscle for most people is really difficult to build. Even with perfect nutrition and the perfect weight training program, most people can only gain 5-6 lbs. of muscle in a year. The most gifted of us can gain about 10 lbs. a year, but these people are pretty rare.

That's why so-and-so at the gym is huge. He's been doing this for a decade or more.

PS- I know no one asked any of these questions. I'm just rambling off tips that were helpful to me.

[saevel25]

oh i did a calculation once, and turned the amount of fat in my body to gallons, it was disgusting, just visualizing milk gallons full of fat, and thinking thats inside of me.. Blah...

I like the replica's of fat and muscle, great visual..

[Yukari]

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

I was just re-reading what I wrote earlier this morning. I made a lot of generalizations and simplifications in my example of a guy going from 250 to 170. I should have been more specific. Every individual journey is different.

Let's say this 250 lbs. male is 5'7" or 5'8". He's your standard "hardgainer" (which is most of us).

Basically, my point was while it is important to monitor your weight, eventually the scale stops being an effective measure of your progress at some point for everyone. Body fat calipers can help measure some progress. A tape measure can as well. Your waist will be shrinking for example while your weight may not change significantly.

This image can help hit home for some people. It's 5 lbs. of fat next to 5 lbs. of muscle. As you can see, muscle is a lot more dense.

Muscle for most people is really difficult to build. Even with perfect nutrition and the perfect weight training program, most people can only gain 5-6 lbs. of muscle in a year. The most gifted of us can gain about 10 lbs. a year, but these people are pretty rare.

That's why so-and-so at the gym is huge. He's been doing this for a decade or more.

PS- I know no one asked any of these questions. I'm just rambling off tips that were helpful to me.

Ugh!  That picture is disgusting.  And just imagine I am carrying that around my body...

[Noonan1]

I have done P90X (all 90 days!) and my uncle has done insanity. I definitely recommend P90X and highly suggest you start your frist week very very easy. I have seen a lot of people start P90X with a lot of enthusiam only to work too hard the first week and get their butt kicked, giving up on it after 5 days.

In order to get a six pack you have to cut carbs and stick to lean protein and veggies. No sugars at all, no beer, and you have to be disciplined. All it takes is 3 months to get a six pack, but you have to stick to your diet 100% - straying even one meal a week will ruin your chance of getting a six pack. Start now and you will have that six pack for summer.

I also know a lot of people that have finished P90X and been upset with their results, but they didnt do the Yoga or the Plyo workouts. The yoga is the most important!!

Good luck! If you want a more detailed answer on how to get a six pack let me know.

[saevel25]

Then 6-pack abs are not worth it. If there a trophy to show off, its not worth it. There is not health benefits to 6-pack abs, someone can be just as healthy with out them. I rather see people become healthy for the right reasons than just to show of something superficial.

[shank-a-roo]

I am planning on getting back into the workout regime again this summer. I have P90X and did about 75 days of it a couple years ago before I had to quit because of injury. I haven't had the time to do much of anything lately. I was lifting every day up until about 1 year ago but because I switched jobs (old job had a gym I would go to at lunch) I haven't been able to find the time between that, school full time and family stuff. I have a break in school this summer and am really looking forward to golfing a lot more and getting back into shape. I was going to borrow insanity from my bro-in-law, but after reading the thread, I might just try to do P90X again. Any tips? I am about 5'10 190 right now. I would really like to lose about 15 pounds or so. I would need to go buy another pull up bar if I did P90X but we still have the resistance bands.

[erock9174]

I haven't tried Insanity but currently 30 days in using P90x. I started at 156 pounds and currently down to 143.  Still trying to shed about 10-12 lbs then I figure if I start building muscle I will look halfway decent.  Great workout and diet plan though.  finally feel like I am eating right.  I use their 1400 calorie per day "fat shredder" diet.

[Gioguy21]

My gf and I are starting P90X on friday...i'm 6'4" 200 and pretty built from college (baseball) and she's a skinny 5'6" at 120...she wants muscle, i want to get rid of some 'desk weight' and gain some of my mass back...


a quick ? for you guys...i've taken N.O. Explode before, and was wondering if a nitrogen supplement would be beneficial in this rigorous workout?

[tmf9]

I havent read this whole thread but im 195lbs and 6'4 so about your size and i have a 6 pack.  Good ol fashion crunches can go a looong way, i eat like crap and dont do anywhere near as much running as you do and it works for me.  Eating healthier foods and crunches will definitely help you.

[Gioguy21]

you're 17...lol your life will catch up to you. i'm 6'4 and 200...haven't seen my six pack since i was 20...(i'm 25) and i work hard at it and eat well...it's got some shape but not what it used to be. joys of getting older...

[tmf9]

Yeah you're probably right about that...I hear the same thing from my mom quite often lol.

[Gioguy21]

aright, so i have a bit of a situation that i hope people here who've done P90X can help me with. I did my first exercise session in the classic program...and there's a TON of pushups. there's one problem. i have shoulders that have tendency of not popping out but are very unstable to a point where while i was in college, i was advised to not to straight bar bench press, or anything in which my shoulders would seemingly have excess stress on them. i can do free weights as it isolates the shoulder, but i can't do pushups without being in serious strain. any other way i can do exercises to keep with the program or at least keep even with it? any/all advice would be incredibly helpful. thanks in advance,

-Paul G

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by Yukari

Ugh!  That picture is disgusting.  And just imagine I am carrying that around my body...

It also explains why I look like a beanpole to my wife, but weigh 230, just to toot my own horn. If you are trying to burn fat, go low carb.  I would say screw it and just try to get your golf muscles in shape.  I've found that when you do that and eat decent, but still allow a beer a day or so, you get a flabby six-pack, i.e. one you can see in the mirror, but also one you can pinch slightly.  If you just live in a healthy way, your body will end up being healthy.  It may not look like what you think it should look like, but it will be healthy.  That's way more important when you're over 25 and married.

[Grunnsetning]

Perhaps I need to change my diet. Usually I have a large muffin, an apple, and a large coffee for breakfast during the week. During lunch typically Chipotle burrito or a couple of slices of pizza or a hamburger, with fries, of course. Dinner is usually the largest meal, typically steak, fried chicken or pasta with some alcohol. Oh, I usually snack on fruits during the day.

I think I need to cut out all the alcohol and reduce the meal size for dinner. I also think I need more protein during the day, perhaps.

Without a doubt you need to cut back a ton. I run 10-14 miles a week and i can not lose weight without eating under 2500 or so calories and thats only days i run or workout. If i am doing neither then i need to be under 2000. What you listed is probably 5000 or more.