P90X? Is it right for me?

[CT Mommy]

I am overweight and unhealthy! OK, I admit it. I've had 4 babies in 5.5 years and moved 4 times. My husband works a ton of hours and travels for work. I have no help or family here, and very few friends, so I get depressed and eat/veg in front of TV I'm horribly out of shape. I'm fairly certain I'm having some related health issues. My youngest is 7 months now and I cannot keep blaming the pregnancy for my rotund figure. I've had to purchase all new clothes. I am probably 25 pounds overweight. It's time.

The one thing I have going for me is my diet. Yes, I eat too much, but I eat good, nutitionally dense, organic food that I prepare myself. My diet needs tweaking certainly, but it's not like I have to throw out all the processed foods in my fridge and start that anew.

I DO, however, need to start exercising. I was quite a gym rat when I was younger and love group exercise, but I cannot seem to work the group exercise schedule around my children's schedule and nursing. And, even though I have a free gym membership from my husbands work, I find lugging my 4 young kids to the gym is really a pain in the you-know-what for me. And, inevitably, one of them cries for me and they pull me out of my class anyway. So, I've wasted all that effort and energy, planning etc., for 20 minutes of an exercise class.

So, I want to do something at home. I see lots of posts on P90X and everyone raves about it. I'm intimidated, yes. I haven't really worked out since before I was pregnant w/my first, so 7ish years ago! And, I'm really worried that this will be too much for me. I also don't plan on changing my diet much (just controlling portions and in-between meals better). So, will this work for me? I am thinking that something is better than nothing.

Let me know what your experiences have been.

[Qalliope]

Very cool that you are getting motivated.

The upside of P90X:
The guy on the videos is really positive and upbeat. Some people think he is goofy and hamming it up for the camera, but I like that he doesn't take himself too seriously. They work you hard. You get really fast results, which help keep you motivated. The guides and worksheets help keep you organized and let you see your progress. The whole program makes you feel so strong and powerful. It's a buzz. It's also easy to modify so that you can finish even if you are pretty out of shape. I am in about the same place as you fitness-wise. You can get more intense as your body grows more accustomed to the workout. Just don't try to match their pace/reps/weight at first.


The downside:
The P90X workouts are really freakin long and totally exhausting, so that may make it hard with 4 littles. I have 2 kids, ages 6 and 2, and I still find it hard to complete the workouts. I get interrupted constantly. If you have a consistent nap time when all of them go down at once, or you can get up before them or something, it would probably be fine. But you will be sore and dragging after the workouts for the first week or two at least. If you can cut yourself some slack with the housework for a couple of weeks that would be best.

The rest:
It is a lot of very intense strength training. If you are more aerobically oriented you could try the "Lean" version of the program or you might try one of the other programs on the Beachbody site. The P90X diet also calls for a lot of protein, for good reason. You are working hard and get very hungry, and your body needs fuel for all the muscle you're building. Their plan is very well laid out and not hard to follow, but if you do not want to make significant dietary changes, the program may not be as a effective for you. It is easy to run out of gas in the middle of a workout if you are not eating enough or not eating the right stuff.

[MommatoAandA]

On top of buying the programs, you need a pull up bar and weights or resistance bands. (weights are better). The program is fun and upbeat but hard. It is circuit training, so you never stop going, which helps to lean out. it is not a heavy lifting program, which I prefer heavy lifting at the gym over this. The one thing I have to stress is, you HAVE HAVE HAVE to follow the diet. Diet is more important to losing fat/weight than any exercise, EVER. He MAJORLY has you cutting your carbs (normal portions which people in this country are NOT used to).

I think it will work if you are committed. It's nice to be able to do it at home. The Yoga is pretty badass and the Ab program is fabulous. The stretch and Kenpo is great too. You will be sore and exhausted the first 1-2 weeks, but it is very important to keep up with it and keep going on schedule.

GL! Get it on Craigslist for wayyyy cheaper and they sell pull up bars at walmsrt for like 40$

[2xy]

I know a lot of people ignore the instructions, but you are supposed to do a "fit test" before starting P90X.

For the record, I am not overweight, and I work in a physically active environment so I'm not truly sedentary, and P90X was too much for me. The workouts are long and I hurt all over for the first week. We (DH and I) did it for six weeks and then I hurt my back (not from the workout) and stopped. DH is not one to work out without a partner, so he's not doing it anymore.

I'm actually considering selling my discs. If you're really interested in torturing yourself (), maybe we could make an arrangement.

[rootzdawta]

The pps are right in that the P90X is an intense program with a big time commitment. I kept up with it until week 6 when I finally accepted that this is not the time but I definitely want to do it and complete it at some point in the near future. I wasn't following the diet program (was doing Weight Watchers) and was still very pleased with the results. I think a *huge* component is a disciplined way of eating, i.e. knowing exactly what and how much is going in not just a vague idea.

That being said, if I were you, I would consider Chalean Extreme. Not quite as intense but it also focuses heavily on strength training and has it's own diet guide and all that.

[LeslieB]

I'd recommend Chalean Extreme over P90X. I've done both and had better results with Chalene Extreme. It's a weight training program like P90X, but the time committment per day is much less. Don't get me wrong, I like P90X, but it was just too long.
Like P90X, though, it does require equipment: weights or bands.
If you don't want to invest in that, then I'd recommend maybe TurboFire, TurboJam or Insanity. I've been doing Insanity since last August and love it, but depending on your fitness level, it might be too intense. A lot of people love TurboJam. TurboFire is the new one out, so I don't know if it's good or not, but it looks good.

[CT Mommy]

Chalean Extreme? I just checked it out. It looks like it might be "more fun" than P90X?? Is it the same 90-type program? Will I see some results early on? I think I'm going to need that to keep me motivated. Does it tell you what to do basically every day for 90 days? I need that too...I plan on working out before the kids awake and there is nothing I want to have to think about at 5:00 am!! Is it all weight training? It looks like there is some cardio mixed in. It looks like I'll need weights (how many #s?) or bands to get started. Anything else?

I have seen it for sale for alot less on ebay (like 50% less). Does anyone know if those are "authentic?"

[crunchy_mama]

I agree with others it is very time intensive. It would be impossible to not get some results if you follow it but 6 days a week 1:15-1:45 minutes a day is a big commitment. It is not for beginners for sure- unless you are very good at listening to your body and stop and modify as needed. I did find it boring especially by the end of the 2nd phase.

Currently I am doing 30 day Shred- just started again as it is about 30 min and about my time limit right now. Chalean Extreme looks really good- I like that it does heavy weights- LeslieB can you give more of a low down- it seems from what I can find the workouts are 30-45 minutes is that right?

[CT Mommy]

OK, so I did it. Chalean Extreme is now en route to my house. ONce here, I have no excuses!! Thanks for all of your help!!

[LeslieB]

Oh yay! Sorry I didn't see this before. I do have heavy weights for it. I got the Bowflex Selecttechs. It was worth the money, and I've really continued to use them since I got them.
Hope you like it!!