For everyone out there who’s still on the fence about the P90X Exercise System, I wanted to write this next series of posts to give you a closer look at some of the finer details. Lets take a peak behind the curtain and look at some of the actual P90X Exercises themselves. We’ll be exploring what are in my opinion the top moves from the 12 unique, P90X exercise DVDs that are part of the system. We’ll be looking at the good the bad and the UGLY! That’s right some of these moves are downright beasts. The First P90X exercise in the line up comes form Disc #1 Chest & Back:
The Dive Bomber Push-Up
For me this is one of THE most intense P90X Exercises in the Chest & Back line up. Here’s how it’s done:
You’re going to start off in what’s called a “Downward Dog” Position as per the first pic above. You’ll want to make sure your hands and feet are set wide. You will then move into the “Upward Dog” position. As you’re doing this Tony Horton (the personal trainer who guides you through the P90X exercises) likes to have you think of this as going under a fence. To do so correctly and with good form, you want the entire motion to be very fluid in the transition. Once you go under in a forward motion you then go under the fence in reverse to return to the Downward Dog position. Seems easy but it’s one heck of an exercise! I do about 6-8 with good form so far. It really seems to engage a lot of muscles. You’re definitely working the chest, arms and even the legs to some degree to maintain balance and form.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s top P90X exercise as we dig into Disc #2, Plyometrics and take look at a killer move called Jump Knee Tuck!
Vitamin B1: is essential in providing your body with the energy you need through the metabolism of carbohydrates and protein. It is also required for the processing of alcohol.
Energy is something that a lot of us today are lacking. Dragging ourselves out of bed, in to the shower and off to work. And most of us will run to the nearest Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks for our much needed energy boost that completely fizzles out by the early afternoon.
Instead of drinking your short lived energy with all the extra calories and sugar, why not take a more natural route. There are many healthy foods that contain Vitamin B1, giving you the energy you’ll need to get you through the day.
Check out our healthy food list below:
Raw sunflower seeds (1/4 cup, 205 calories)
54 percent daily value
Cooked yellowfin tuna (4 ounces, 157 calories)
38 percent daily value
Cooked black beans (1 cup, 227 calories)
28 percent daily value
Cooked corn (1 cup, 177 calories)
24 percent daily value
Sesame seeds (1/4 cup, 206 calories)
18 percent daily value
Oatmeal (1 cup, 145 calories)
17 percent daily value
Cooked asparagus (1 cup, 43 calories)
14 percent daily value
Brussels sprouts (1 cup, 60 calories)
11 percent daily value
Cooked spinach (1 cup, 41 calories)
11 percent daily value
Pineapple (1 cup, 76 calories)
9 percent daily value
A new discovery from Princeton University about rat brains shows exercise reduces stress. Scientists have known that exercising creates new brain cells but with this new research it appears that the newly created cells are somewhat immune to stressful experiences. It is known that working out releases chemicals in the brain that make you happy which is reason enough to exercise. This new information shows us there are psychological benefits to working out rather than just physical. As your body becomes stronger, more flexible and increases its energy supplies the brain is quietly building new and improved cells. In the rat exercise study it was found that prolonged exercise, greater than 3 weeks was crucial. While working out sporadically is better than nothing at all, you should ultimately be consistently working out every week to see and feel the greatest results.
If you’re just getting into the P90X workout system then you probably still have a few questions. In Todays post we are addressing the importance of the P90X Protein Bars for all of you who have asked.
The P90X Nutrition Guide breaks down your daily caloric intake into 5 meals:
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Notice how you have 2 “snack” slots in there. Well the reason you’re eating 5 meals a day instead of the traditional 3, is that eating several sensibly portioned meals throughout the entire day has actually been proven to increase your body’s metabolism. If you’re introducing food into the body, the digestive system is stimulated and although you’re adding calories you engaging the metabolic process which helps burn calories and keep the body “running” at a higher level of activity. So the next time you think about skipping a meal or starving yourself to lose weight…THINK AGAIN! It’s actually counter productive for this and other reasons.
The P90X Workouts are intense and in order to perform effectively your body needs fuel and that fuel comes from what you eat. The nutritionists who developed the P90X Nutrition Guide understand that protein is a key component as it’s involved in transporting oxygen, contracting muscles, transporting electrons, and is the primary component of muscle tissue itself! That’s where the P90X Protein Bars step in. In fact if you take a look in your nutrition guide you’re going to see it specifically called for in your daily meal plans in the snack categories.
2 of our 3 flavors of P90X Protein Bars have 20 grams of protein! Cafe Mocha trails right behind with 18 grams, still not too shabby! Check out the full list of ingredients by visiting the following links to our P90X Protein Bars:
(By the way our #1 customer favorite is Chocolate Peanut Butter)
If you’ve heard about P90X and have had a chance to check out some the recommended accessories, then you’ve probably stumbled upon the P90X Push Up Stands by now. Are they an absolute necessity to complete the program…no, but lets take a look at why P90X Push Up Stands are a great option to consider. There are 2 MAJOR benefits to be had with the P90X Push Up Stands:
1.) Extend Your Range of Motion
While standard push ups are great, P90X Push Up Stands actually extend your range of motion. You can dip down deeper and push back up further, essentially maximizing each and every rep you do. If you want more results faster this is reason enough.
2.) Reduce Wrist Tension
Some of us unfortunately get wrist “tweaks” when doing push ups normally. Others just simply have wrist issues to begin with. The P90X Push Up Stands actually help minimize wrist tension issues by having you grip the handles. I have a friend who has been an auto mechanic for years and he has wrist issues from working on cars. I’d imagine a lot of turning and tightening of bolts and such. Whatever the reasons, when he started P90X he found right away that the Push Up Stands really did deliver on this promise and he doesn’t perform the workouts without them now.
I wrote about the Dunkin Donut’s Pumpkin Latte yesterday and how unhealthy it is for you. Today I want to expand on that post by talking about the sugar content of soda, specifically pepsi. Let’s begin with the facts. 1 gram of sugar = about 4 calories. The average sugar packet in the U.S. has 4 grams of sugar. So that’s about 16 calories. (Think about that the next time you dump 5 sugar packs in your coffee, I’ll help you with the math, it’s 80 calories, Yikes!) Ok, so back to soda. According to Pepsi, 8 fl oz (a serving which happens to be less than a can of soda) contains 100 calories and 28 grams of sugar. So let’s figure this out: 28 * 4 = 112. Hmm…. All the calories in pepsi’s serving size are attributed to sugar.
So if you shouldn’t be drinking soda what should you be drinking. Well, water is a perfect substitute considering it has everything Pepsi has minus the sugar and additives. You should be drinking 64 ounces of water every day. I know it’s hard to do so try this. Drink 6 – 8 ounces at the top of every hour. Doing this will eliminate whether you want to or not. 9 am drink water, 10 am drink water, 11 am drink water, etc. You’ll feel amazing if you do this. You’ll notice more energy, your skin will clear up, you’ll feel lighter, etc.
Once you’re comfortable drinking your daily dose of water you can try slipping in some recovery drink into your morning glass or right after your home workout. This provides extra vitamins and minerals your body needs to keep it in its best condition.
Here at Extreme Body Workout, we are one of many to extol the virtues of the P90X system. And while we are confident the system is a great way to get fit and make major changes to your body and your life, we know that it takes people a period of adjustment and some learning to get on track. If you are having P90X problems, we are here for you, just let us know!
Many people have questions about the P90X nutrition plan. P90X problems related to the accompanying diet can be especially frustrating to some. A highly formatted eating plan can take some adjustment. If you have questions about any of the nutritional approaches or stages, check out some of our blog posts. Simply search for “P90X Nutrition” and you will find a wealth of information!
Maybe you have questions about your ability to do the program. Some P90X problems come up because of prior injuries or medical conditions. If you have serious concerns about your health, it’s best to discuss your plans with your physician. However, we may be able to help with some of the more basic questions. Feel free to leave a comment here in the blog or send customer service an email.
If your P90X problems stem from the program itself, perhaps you are missing a workout or a guidebook, we can definitely point you in the right direction. We staff our customer service department from 9 am to 5 pm Eastern time on Monday through Friday. Simply fill out this form and you will get a response!
We know that starting a new fitness program isn’t without its challenges and we want to be here to support you on your journey.
Let us know how we can help with your P90X problems and ask us any burning question you might have about the system. We stand behind all of our products with superior customer service and product knowledge!
Getting on the path to fitness can mean a big life change for most people. It means dedicating yourself to some hard work. It means not only making physical fitness a real part of your life but also taking a serious look at your diet as well. For a lot of us, knowing what to eat and when is tough. If you have considered taking the plunge with P90X you can breath a little easier knowing that the P90X Meal Plan Approach will have you coved in this department.
The P90X Meal Plan makes planning and preparing your meals a breeze. What you’ll find is an easy to follow meal schedule that will give you exact recipes of what to eat throughout the 13 week program. If you’re like me this is a godsend. Not only do the meals taste good, but it takes all the guess workout out of what to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It even has your snack recommendations laid out for you too—it couldn’t be easier.
The P90X Meal Plan Approach is just one of 3 approaches that the P90X nutrition guide offers. You can choose one approach or combine the approaches to add a little variety Here are the options:
1.) P90X Portion Approach
2.) P90X Meal Plan Approach
3.) P90X Quick Options Approach
The P90X Portion Approach
It’s pretty simple. On page 5 of the P90X Nutrition Guide you first determine your “nutrition level” by filling in your current body weight and crunching a few numbers in the formula it provides. Once you figure out what level you are you are you turn to the “P90X Portion Approach” table which lays out how much proteins, dairy, fruits, vegetables, fats, carbs etc. you should be eating in a given day. So lets say you are a Level 1, as the guide indicates you should be shooting for 5 “servings” of proteins per day. So, if you flip to the next page after the table food recommendations for each category. Now simply locate the proteins section and choice from the many suggestions. For example:
3 oz boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast
This would qualify as one serving of protein. The portion approach makes it easy to put together interesting, healthy meals while keeping you on course with how much you should be eating.
P90X Meal Plan Approach
If you aren’t interested or don’t know how to be creative in the meal department the P90X Meal Plan Approach will be your best friend. You get a weekly meal planner complete with the actual recipes to make each meal of the day. For example, lets take a look at a dinner:
6 oz Turkey
2 tbs Gravey
1/2 cup of Green Beans
1 cup Butternut Squash Soup
Now flip to the recipe page and it will give you the exact ingrediets and spices you need to make each course of the meal. It’s really hard to mess up. You know exactly what to eat, when and how to make it!
P90X Quick Options
These are really convenience foods and this option cannot be used as the primary focus of your nutrition. What’s great about it though, is if you are pressed for time you can grab these in the frozen food section of the grocery store and whip it up in a flash. No muss no fuss. Look for these brands:
-Amy’s Kitchen
- Weight Watchers Smart Ones
- Lean Cuisine
- and more!
Keep in mind you should NOT exceed more than one of these meals in a day, and be sure to follow the calorie, fat and sodium guidelines that this section outlines.
Whether it’s the P90X Meal Plan Approach, The Portion Approach or the Quick Option Approach, the P90X Nutrition guide offers really simple ways to eat healthy and give your body the fuel it needs to keep up with the workouts. If you aren’t a five star chef don’t worry P90X still has you covered. While that outlines the 3 Approaches if you want to learn a little about the 3 Phases of the P90X Nutrition Guide checkout this article:
Vitamin A: is great in helping to fight infection and is crucial in maintaining your eyesight.
More and more today people are trying to lead a more natural and healthy life style, eating more natural and healthy foods, steering away from processed junk. Trying to changing our eating habits so that a pill filled with vitamins becomes unnecessary.
Growing up my mom would always tell me to eat my carrots because they were good for my eyes. But as a kid I hated carrots, especially cooked ones. There are many other healthy foods that contain Vitamin A that you may not be aware of. So if carrots aren’t your thing try something else. Its good for your eyes!
Check out our healthy food list below:
Raw carrots (1 cup, 53 calories)
686 percent daily value
Cooked spinach (1 cup, 41 calories)
294 percent daily value
Baked sweet potato with skin (95 calories)
262 percent daily value
Cooked turnip greens (1 cup, 28 calories)
158 percent daily value
Baked winter squash (1 cup, 80 calories)
145 percent daily value
Cooked collard greens (1 cup, 49 calories)
118 percent daily value
Cantaloupe (1 cup, 56 calories)
103 percent daily value
Romaine lettuce (2 cups, 16 calories)
58 percent daily value
Steamed broccoli (1 cup, 43 calories)
45 percent daily value
Cooked green peas (1 cup, 134 calories)
19 percent daily value
The P90X workout plan has more than 2 million followers to date. Why are so many people into the program? Well the short answer is, it works! But lets get into the details here to see why the P90X workout plan is so popular.
1.) The P90X workout plan can be done in the comfort of your own home. This is a huge plus. There are a lot of us out there including myself who simply do not want to make the commute to the gym. I personally hate the inconvenience, not to mention I don’t want to pay the monthly fees and on top of that I save a lot of time in my schedule not having to even get in the car to do my workout. People like working out at home it just makes life easier.
2.) The P90X workout plan is actually fun. One of the main reasons P90X is so effective is that it focuses on the concept of “Muscle Confusion” in a nutshell it throws in a ton of different exercises from many different schools of physical fitness. Not only does it push the body to keep getting results but hey variety is the spice of life. The simple fact that I don’t have to do the same old routine over the course of the 90 day program makes the P90X workout plan a lot more interesting. A lot of people fail to continue working out because it becomes monotonous. This isn’t the case with P90X and it makes a HUGE difference for people like me.
3.) The P90X Workout Plan has a strong focus on your diet as well as your physical fitness. What makes the program so popular is that it has you covered on the workouts as well as what you eat. I don’t mind cooking but to be honest, like a lot of people I really don’t know how to make 100% healthy meals. The P90X Nutrition Guide holds your hand through the whole process. You get full meals mapped out for you from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. It makes eating healthy practically a no brainer.
Have you tried the Dunkin Donut’s Pumpkin Latte? Is it good? It better be with all the sugar they dump in it. They put 51 grams of sugar in their medium, that’s too much in my opinion. Consider the following, the average can of soda contains 39 grams of sugar, this means the DD latte has 33% more sugar than a can of soda. So if you thought drinking soda was bad you’re going to want to consider not drinking this.
If sugar isn’t a concern to you perhaps the whopping 330 calories is. If you ate a 350 calorie breakfast and then you bought this on your way to work you’re looking at ingesting 680 calories before you start your day. The recommended daily dose of calories is 2000. So let’s do the math… you eat breakfast and have a Dunkin Donut’s Pumpkin Latte and you’re at 680 calories, subtract that from 2000 and you have 1320 calories remaining for the rest of the day. That’s not very many considering lunch and dinner tend to be larger meals.
Ok, so let’s say you skip breakfast all together and just drink your tasty drink. Not as many calories, good deal you think. Wrong! That 330 calorie drink is mostly sugar with a side of fat. You won’t find anything of substance in there. Good luck making it to lunch without grabbing something to eat and my bet is that if you skipped breakfast and choose this drink as the substitute your before lunch snack probably isn’t baby carrots.
So do yourself a favor and start the day right. Wake up 10 minutes early tomorrow and make some coffee (don’t add to much sugar though) and have some healthy cereal. The blackened coffee and whole-grain cereal might not taste as good as the pumpkin latte but I assure you your body will appreciate it, if not now it will the next time you get your vitals checked at your doctors office.
I know everyone has heard this one before, how it is so important to warm up before starting any fitness training program. You don’t want to pull a muscle or strain yourself. But did you know that if you don’t warm up before hand you’re just wasting some of your valuable workout, wasting time warming up during your actual workout. Your body is going to take the time to warm up wether you do it or not. We all live in a society where everything is just rush rush rush. It seems like we have less and less time to do our workouts, so why not make it count. Take the time before hand to get your heart pumping and get the most out of your fitness training program.
If you want to warm up properly for your workout, simple stretching won’t do. The whole point is to get heart rate up and to warm up your body. If your fitness training program is a real intense one, like the P90X, then you will want to do a much longer warm up session, although the P90X program does a great job of warming you up on its own. But for other programs doing a little jogging in place for about 10 minutes or for lower intensity programs a quick walk around the block, in addition to stretching, will do the trick.
People often ask me “does p90x work?” and I always give them the same answer… absolutely. If you give a 100% during your workouts and you follow the nutrition guide you should feel some positive changes in as little as a week. You might not see a huge change in the mirror but don’t fret because if you stick with it you’ll notice (and so will others) some radical improvements in as little as 3 – 4 weeks.
While looking around on Google for the term does p90x work, I came across Shelly’s Journal. She posted about this very topic, does p90x work, back in July when she was at her half way point. She gave a very thorough review that I suggest you check out. According to her she says that for p90x to work really depends on your level of commitment. If you’re willing to change your diet and work through the hard workouts then you’ll be glad you did and the answer to your question – does p90x work? – will be yes.
Shelley finished the p90x in August, I recommend reading her day 90 review as well.
Does p90x work? If you’ve completed or are currently doing the P90X please tell me what you think.
It seems like everywhere you turn health and physical fitness is increasingly put in the spotlight. But for those of us who are not so physically active we might find ourselves scratching our heads saying “Why is physical fitness so important”. Well the answer is actually pretty simple. It improves the quality of our lives and it increases how long we actually live. These should seem like reason enough to consider making physical fitness a real part of our lives.
You ever wake up in the morning after getting a solid 8 hours but still feel exhausted? A lot of us actually feel fatigued despite the fact that we sit behind a desk all day and return home to sit on our couch. Well exercise can actually be the cure for this. Getting at least a 30 mins of exercise a day can make a big difference not only in your health but in how you feel. Exercise can give you more energy in your day-to-day life and can actually be a cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
It doesn’t take much to realize why physical fitness is so important. If you want to live longer and enjoy more of the life you’re living start treating your body right and give it what it wants… exercise!
I bet every woman out there would love to tone their legs and butt with one easy step. Just change your sneakers! Is it really possible? Reebok’s new EasyTone Sneakers claim to do just that. Apparently this new and innovative fitness gear for your feet will tone your hamstrings up to 11% harder and tone your butt 28% more just by walking in them.
Check it out
Ok, so do they really work? And how?
The Reebok EasyTone sneakers simulates the act of walking in your bare feet. When you walk barefooted you step into your stride with more of a flexed knee and push off with a straight leg. This motion activates your muscles in your hamstrings and butt. Thus, toning your legs and butt as you walk. Of course nothing is perfect, there may be some side effect to using this new fitness gear.
According to Ethan J. Ciment, a surgical podiatrist, people who wear these sneakers may unknowingly adapt the way they normally walk. Making it painful and uncomfortable to wear normal shoes. He recommends consulting with a podiatrist before trying the Reebok EasyTone sneaker. (Original Source: That’s Fit, Ronnie Koenig)
If you are a little uneasy about trying this new fitness gear, try something more traditional, like a 10 minute workout with Tony Horton. It only takes 10 minutes a day and it will to work your hamstrings and butt, with out the risk!
For more information on this workout check out this article: 10 Minute Trainer
A new discovery from Princeton University about rat brains shows exercise reduces stress. Scientists have known that exercising creates new brain cells but with this new research it appears that the newly created cells are somewhat immune to stressful experiences. It is known that working out releases chemicals in the brain that make you happy which is reason enough to exercise. This new information shows us there are psychological benefits to working out rather than just physical. As your body becomes stronger, more flexible and increases its energy supplies the brain is quietly building new and improved cells. In the rat exercise study it was found that prolonged exercise, greater than 3 weeks was crucial. While working out sporadically is better than nothing at all, you should ultimately be consistently working out every week to see and feel the greatest results.
I wrote about the 
Here at Extreme Body Workout, we are one of many to extol the virtues of the P90X system. And while we are confident the system is a great way to get fit and make major changes to your body and your life, we know that it takes people a period of adjustment and some learning to get on track. If you are having P90X problems, we are here for you, 
Getting on the path to fitness can mean a big life change for most people. It means dedicating yourself to some hard work. It means not only making physical fitness a real part of your life but also taking a serious look at your diet as well. For a lot of us, knowing what to eat and when is tough. If you have considered taking the plunge with P90X you can breath a little easier knowing that the P90X Meal Plan Approach will have you coved in this department.
It seems like everywhere you turn health and physical fitness is increasingly put in the spotlight. But for those of us who are not so physically active we might find ourselves scratching our heads saying “Why is physical fitness so important”. Well the answer is actually pretty simple. It improves the quality of our lives and it increases how long we actually live. These should seem like reason enough to consider making physical fitness a real part of our lives.
