My P90X Expectations

I have to be honest, I'm not expecting much from the P90X program. It's not that I don't think the program works, it's that I don't think I'm quite ready for it.

P90X was meant for people who are already in reasonable shape and want to push it even more to get bigger and more ripped. It is actually the next level to the Power 90 In-Home Boot Camp which is also from Tony Horton and Beach Body. The transformation videos I've seen from people who were in about my shape and got really cut from the program seemed to start with Power 90 then did P90X.

So I'm trying to be realistic. I'm also not following the nutritional guide and that's the majority of the program that's necessary to get the results you see. My eating habits aren't that bad and I'm improving them, but I wasn't ready to go full on with the program yet.

The program seems pretty hard and I'm expecting to have some difficulties with it so my plan is to do it twice. The second time around it should still be hard, but some of the exercises I expect to have problems with should be easier. The second time around I'll probably follow the diet as well.

I'm hoping to drop maybe 10-15 lbs and get stronger. A little more definition and size in my arms and legs but I'm not expecting 6 pack abs. My clothes should fit a bit looser though. My main goal would be to be in much better shape to do P90X again.

I don't think that's too unrealistic. The last time I tried to exercise more to lose weight I was at my heaviest at a little over 220 but got down to 180 lbs. I didn't keep track of how long it took but it was probably 5-6 months.

All I did to lose those 40 lbs was cardio and watching what I ate a little. I started out with 30 minutes a day of cardio and slowly worked up to 60 minutes or more a day. At first it was light. Just walking. I was hoping to start jogging but I never liked it. I tried early on but it was too hard. I would bike for about an hour when I could, but that was dependent on weather. So I searched on Craigslist for a used exercise bike and instead find a good deal on a used NordicTrack skier and was very happy that I got it. I used it every day and I think it was what helped me lose the most weight.

Not sure what happened, but I stopped using it as frequently and gained some of the weight back, which I'm now trying to lose again with P90X. Depending how much energy P90X leaves me with, I'm going to try to add some NordicTrack back into my exercise routine.