Most of you know that I am a certified personal trainer. Many of you know that the reason I am one is because I got seriously fed up with all the false information floating around trying to take advantage of people who just want to be healthy. But I didn't get certified to help everyone else out, I was just desperately trying to help myself. I finally decided to seek out the real information and engage in a serious round of research to find out what the truth really was in regards weight loss and fitness - because there were way too many people lining up to say "just buy my stuff, it's like magic!"
Once I was certified, I did take on clients. It made sense, I understood what the truth was - and this only made me even angrier at the amount of people pushing lies in order to get rich on people who were only asking for help. I backed off of clients when I went back to school. I only kept my online clients, and only a select few of those.
Now I am out of school, and I could take on more clients. Technically, financially, I could really use the money too. But there is something about being a trainer that comes part and parcel with it that isn't so great; people expect you to have the perfect body.
News Flash: my body is FAR from perfect.
In this media driven world, people expect a trainer to have a perfectly cut body. As a matter of fact, the saying goes that if your trainer isn't picture perfect, that they're a BAD trainer and to stay far away from them. The theory is that any trainer who doesn't take care to cultivate a perfect body can't be trusted to give you the right information.
In finding the information and then deciding to help people with it, I put upon myself an additional body image stressor that was worse than before. Because the honest truth is that no matter what I do, I'll never have a "bikini-ready body". There are certain factors playing against me that only a knife would change. So, without choosing to sink hundreds of thousands of dollars into cutting away what diet and exercise cannot touch - I'm never going to look like a fitness model.
But I never wanted to anyway.
When all this began, I simply wanted to look healthy. I was tired of being fat, and "soft", and not feeling good. So, I wanted to be toned, fit, and healthy. In general, I have achieved that. But it's not enough. I feel a keen sense of pressure to look better, lose more weight, etc. I heard one person say "there is always fat to be lost! Even fitness competitors must cut until they're down to next to nothing. If they have to do that, then you always have fat you can lose!"
Oh, the horror. I always have fat I can lose. The never ending battle from hell.
Nevermind that you actually need some fat on your body. Nevermind that those fitness competitors know very well how close to the line they are pushing it, and do not maintain that critically low stage for very long. But it doesn't matter, because fat is evil... we must annihilate all fat! And as someone who has her foot in the fitness industry, I have an obligation to take on my thighs like some demented version of Space Invaders! Shoot the fat cells before they flatten you! Quick!
When you are a trainer, your "body is your billboard", and according to standards mine says "second rate".
But you know... far back in my memory is that girl who just wanted to be healthy. She was excited to break through the 200 lbs mark. She was amazed to run a marathon. She was impressed with herself to bench more than her body weight. She would have been happy with where I am today. Being 5'10 and in the 150's isn't fat. It isn't even overweight. That girl also didn't dream of becoming a fitness guru and taking the gospel to the masses. No, she still wanted to be an artist and an author, with maybe another daytime occupation thrown in since I paint and write at night for the most part (I'll be job hunting at the end of summer, since I have my business degree now.) She just wanted to be healthy, while fulfilling the career desires that burned rather brightly.
Being fit, and being in fitness are two separate things. I AM fit. I'm more fit than the majority of the population, much less my peer group in the arts and business categories. But in the fitness industry I don't look good enough. In finding the right information out and then taking it forward, I actually took a misstep into a worse situation.
I don't know if I am a good trainer, you would have to ask my clients. Do I like helping them? Yes. But if I am a good trainer, and I continue to be a trainer - then I am at the wrong end of my "peer group". To the trainers out there, I am a bad trainer simply because of how I look. People will continue to be disappointed in me when they learn I am a certified trainer because I don't look the way they envision a trainer should look.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about all of this. Do I want to continue to divulge that I am a trainer and to take on clients but shoulder the negativity that comes with that, including my own? The irony of it all does not escape me. I sought out the information because everything was so image focused rather than health and I wanted to know the truth, and now here I am judged after the fact by image rather than health by the same tool that helped set me free in the first place.
Fitness is not my passion, it is simply a passionate hobby. Minus reading, it's the only hobby I have. But fitness and being a personal trainer are two separate things. I'll always exercise and eat healthy. I'll always be fit. But now it's coming down to a question of how to be happy with who I am.
So, I guess what I am really doing is contemplating the end of one of my businesses. One of my minor identities. It's like spring cleaning, but for my life. I'm trying to decide if this element fits any longer. Is it doing anyone any good? Is it doing me any good? Is it something I have outgrown, or just poorly fits and I should let it go? Or is it something I should keep, in spite of it all?
I want to feel good about myself, that is my primary goal. Always coming up short, and being unable to change that aspect in the situation is hard for me to take.
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
P90X Plus Review
As anyone who has used P90X for the full plan... and then some, you know that after a while you are just bored with exercise again. You probably thought that wasn't likely to happen when you first started P90X, but suddenly there you were. I was there.
There are just so many times you can watch the same thing over and over. I had even gone to just popping in my iPod, and going through it that way for more entertainment, even after months and months break from the program (and on to custom ones designed for myself.) It's not that I am being down on the original P90X, I'm not. I just get bored after a while. I will say that P90X took me longer than other programs to get bored with, so it's still ahead of other DVDs in my opinion.
I was able to go through the P90X Plus routines, much like I did with the original P90X. So, I'm reviewing it. Many have asked me about it, from my earlier review of P90X (and no, I still haven't done Power 90, aka P90. I've had three people ask me this week alone about the regular Power 90. I don't have it yet, and I'm buried under life right now. When I do get it, I'll review it as well.)
One important point to make to everyone: you must have the original P90X to put this P90X Plus program together. It's set up to basically be additional DVDs to go with the P90X original set. You still incorporate lots of the original workouts with the new ones. You also need to have completed P90X. The reason for this is that the workouts are generally shorter, rely on you having already pretty much mastered a few things with resulting mechanical ability... and to be blunt, I felt like they were sort of a maintenance routine more than a "change everything!" kind of set up. But then, it would be if you had gone through the whole P90X program once... or twice... or six times. It's not a program for newbies, even more so than the original program for that reason. As a newbie, you wouldn't be able to do some of the more advanced moves and simply miss out, and thus get little benefit out of the new routines.
There is a saying "it's harder to maintain than to change." I used to apply that as "it's harder to maintain than to be actively losing weight." This is 100% true. I remember doubting this rather strongly, thinking I'd just like the opportunity to maintain. When you are 70 lbs from where you are suppose to be, and you just want to slap those "it's haaaard to maintain" people upside the head. You would just be so grateful to be strong and healthy and look it, that it would NOT be hard to maintain. Those people just didn't understand.
It turns out that those people are right. It is incredibly hard to maintain after you make dramatic changes. You work hard, you see these new results developing, and it's easy and exciting to keep going. But once you are fit and healthy the changes are very small and you realize that you still have to keep working out hard. That's where most people fall off the side of the mountain and lose a lot of their results along with their motivation.
So, what do you do? The answer is that you have to keep the actual activity interesting, and you have to find a way to use your newly fit body that isn't about creating changes. That really is the key. Find exercise that you think is fun (or at least fairly tolerable on a permanent level) and find activities that you can use the strong body for that make it all worth it (take up rock climbing, join a soccer league, start running races, take up kayaking or rowing, whatever.) P90X Plus is not the rock-climbing-activity type purpose you are looking for. But it could be the "tolerable exercise" routine that you need after you have your results from the original program and are sort of hitting a wall, as long as you really love P90X.
P90X Plus consists of four new routines (interval, total body, kenpo, upper body), and just to torture everyone there is a new extra ab routine too. Because the first one wasn't bad enough to have to do three times a week. *ahem* Alright, I know. I just loath doing abs. Not because I have some sort of belief that you shouldn't... just because I don't like doing them. (Hey, I'm human. I don't like going to the dentist either, but I do that too.)
I call P90X Plus more of a maintenance routine because it has a shorter, more cardio kind of feel to it. It just seems... well, "lighter" for lack of a better word. Many of the moves incorporated are more advanced, but they're fast, and you run through them quickly. Even the production is different, with a brighter feel. I have to be completely honest here, I was rather underwhelmed with it. I didn't have that "wow, they did a really great job with this whole set" as I did with the original program. In their defense, this isn't a whole program. It's just a supplement to the other one.
What I did like was the intervals being incorporated. I'm a big harper on the intervals. I believe in them. I have personally seen what they can do for my physical results and abilities, as well as for clients I train. Interval training is generally hard, and people whine about it, but seriously you are hard pressed to get a bigger bang for your buck (invested time.) The intervals in P90X Plus are not as intense as I am used to working out when I do them, but the workout lasts a little longer than my normal interval training does, too.
My favorite of the original P90X workouts has always been the Kenpo, and P90X Plus has a new one. This felt more like an aerobics/kick boxing/peppy-class than the feel of the Kenpo from the first one. Not entirely... but the impression was there. Still, I did enjoy it. There are moves in the other workouts that I completely get a kick out of too.
In particular there is a move called the Gladiator. Now, maybe everyone has done this before in other classes or workouts, or maybe you were just seriously obsessed with the Russell Crow movie and were pretending you were fighting gilded warriors in your back yard. But, I am not someone who has done this before. If you don't know me, let me say this: coordination with all four limbs at once is not my strong suit. I'm the woman who would take out the entire back section of a dance line or aerobics class tripping over my own feet. I sooth my ego by rationalizing that as an artist I am exceptionally right hand dominate, and all my coordination has gone there (don't burst my delusional bubble, it works for me.)
Still, I was determined to do this Gladiator move. It just looks like fun, and well... I admit it just looks cool. Alright, when they do it, it looks cool. I am highly embarrassed to admit that the first time I tried it, in mid-air, my son came around the door with a "mommy?" and time seemed to slow. It was like something out of a spoof of the Matrix. I contorted, my head turning in his direction, my body clearly going another, and somehow I had gotten good air on my leap too... right into the toy box. Well, one foot anyway.
"Mommy, whatcha doing? Were you trying to jump into the toy box? Can I do that too? Oh please??!?!"
It occurs to me that while I will have many a story to embarrass my son with when he starts dating, that the moment he realizes he has just as many about me and thus fantastic blackmail material, I am in serious trouble.
Oh, another thing about the toy boxes (the only place for me to workout with DVDs is my basement living/toy room area) - they worked great for another of my favorite moves. In one of the workouts you need two chairs. You have to do a slanted push-up between them, then swing your legs through and into a dip, then back again. I love this move, but I don't have two normal sized chairs. What I did have was two Fischer Price toy boxes, one blue and one pink. I have to tell you, those worked out perfectly for the move... even if I probably did look a little (a lot) silly swinging like George of the Jungle between them.
I may be uncoordinated, but I'm resourceful!
I found it interesting that the DVDs prominently featured Bow-Flex interchangeable dumbbells in the routines. As I had said in my original review of P90X, the timing was difficult with my standard plates (it's even worse with P90X Plus now that they've caught on to swift-changing weights.) I recommended a set called Power Blocks (which I still don't own, because I cannot afford them, but I have used them in a gym and love them), and it seems that the group over at P90X has teamed up with Bow-Flex. As a matter of fact, the ads for Bow-Flex on the new DVDs (including during workout pitching of them) were rather annoying. But in the end, this is a business for them and they're partners with Bow-Flex for the quick change dumbbells. The only thing I have to say about that is that hopefully Bow-Flex has improved their design.
You see, I would love to have a set of dumbbells that I could quickly shift through the various weights with. I have spent years with my set of plates with a screw on lock at each end. I have sliced open my foot with that lock at least four times (sharp edges, heavy lock, dropped it.) I have dropped plates countless times on my feet (luckily not my head.) I just have your standard kind of set, with lots of different sized plates that can be rather big and bulky. Basically, I have the caveman equipment, but I just don't have a lot of money to invest in these gadgets even though I may want to.
I was able to check out Power Blocks and the Bow-Flex version a long while back in a store. The Bow-Flex dumbbells were fine, and then suddenly it just released one of the plates, out of nowhere - Right onto my FOOT! One of the problems I was looking to avoid in the first place! I looked closer to see if it was operator error (very high probably with me involved.) I got the store involved in it, and Mr. Savy. Unfortunately, the only thing we discovered was that we were able to make the error happen repeatedly, and that it wasn't me. So, I steered clear of them.
I don't know if Bow-Flex has updated them or not. I sincerely hope so, but due to my experience with them I cannot recommend them. I need to know when I hold a weight over my head that it isn't suddenly going to decide to drop a 20 lbs segment, because that is just the sort of thing that would happen to me. I'm superior at injuring myself all on my own, I don't need any help in that department.
I'm sure people are going to come out of the woodwork to yell at me how much they disagree with something in this review. That they love Bow-Flex, or something else. That's fine, because here is the thing: I don't work for Beachbody, I don't work for Power Blocks, and I have had no contact with Bow-Flex as a company at all. So, this is simply my opinion. I link to an online store which sells the P90X programs because they offered a savings to those looking for one, and were nice to me when Beachbody (a representative that emailed me and identified themselves as such, I believe the person was just an operator that took orders) took the time to be incredibly rude. And that is something else to consider: I am not particularly impressed with the Beachbody company as a whole. So, if I like one of the routines, it's because I genuinely like it and would recommend it - even though I was treated as I was (and believe me, I tend to stew and hold grudges. It would be a lot easier if the products were just worthless, because then I wouldn't have to temper my irritation with them while trying to give an honest review.)
So, bottom line: did I like P90X Plus? Once I adjusted my mental mind-set to categorizing it as "additions" and more of a "maintenance" kind of set-up, I think it's good for that purpose IF you really like P90X. If you are looking for the "wow" of a whole new program, this just isn't it. But then, it's not advertised as that anyway. I'm not sure where my brain was with my expectations, or why - but once I adjusted, it makes sense. So, I'm not raving about it, but it's not bad either. I think it's a good option for those fit people who want to stick with P90X style workouts but are simply bogged down with the amount of time that goes into it (these routines are shorter, averaging around 40 minutes,) and just need something to liven up the monotony without shifting gears entirely.
Is it going to solve the long term dedication problem? No, because you need to find an active pursuit that you enjoy that puts that strong body of yours to use. Being healthy is about living your life healthy. You are not a hamster on a wheel, so don't expect yourself to be thrilled with just DVDs for the rest of your life. Get out there! Go ride a bike! Go for a hike! Surf! Swim! Whatever!!! But go DO IT! Be that person who is envied by your friends because you are showing off your pictures from the weekend where you suddenly decided to climb to the top of a mountain just because.
You'll never look back once you put all the pieces into place, and then you'll finally be wondering why anyone thinks that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard. It isn't, you simply have to learn to live first.
There are just so many times you can watch the same thing over and over. I had even gone to just popping in my iPod, and going through it that way for more entertainment, even after months and months break from the program (and on to custom ones designed for myself.) It's not that I am being down on the original P90X, I'm not. I just get bored after a while. I will say that P90X took me longer than other programs to get bored with, so it's still ahead of other DVDs in my opinion.
I was able to go through the P90X Plus routines, much like I did with the original P90X. So, I'm reviewing it. Many have asked me about it, from my earlier review of P90X (and no, I still haven't done Power 90, aka P90. I've had three people ask me this week alone about the regular Power 90. I don't have it yet, and I'm buried under life right now. When I do get it, I'll review it as well.)
One important point to make to everyone: you must have the original P90X to put this P90X Plus program together. It's set up to basically be additional DVDs to go with the P90X original set. You still incorporate lots of the original workouts with the new ones. You also need to have completed P90X. The reason for this is that the workouts are generally shorter, rely on you having already pretty much mastered a few things with resulting mechanical ability... and to be blunt, I felt like they were sort of a maintenance routine more than a "change everything!" kind of set up. But then, it would be if you had gone through the whole P90X program once... or twice... or six times. It's not a program for newbies, even more so than the original program for that reason. As a newbie, you wouldn't be able to do some of the more advanced moves and simply miss out, and thus get little benefit out of the new routines.
There is a saying "it's harder to maintain than to change." I used to apply that as "it's harder to maintain than to be actively losing weight." This is 100% true. I remember doubting this rather strongly, thinking I'd just like the opportunity to maintain. When you are 70 lbs from where you are suppose to be, and you just want to slap those "it's haaaard to maintain" people upside the head. You would just be so grateful to be strong and healthy and look it, that it would NOT be hard to maintain. Those people just didn't understand.
It turns out that those people are right. It is incredibly hard to maintain after you make dramatic changes. You work hard, you see these new results developing, and it's easy and exciting to keep going. But once you are fit and healthy the changes are very small and you realize that you still have to keep working out hard. That's where most people fall off the side of the mountain and lose a lot of their results along with their motivation.
So, what do you do? The answer is that you have to keep the actual activity interesting, and you have to find a way to use your newly fit body that isn't about creating changes. That really is the key. Find exercise that you think is fun (or at least fairly tolerable on a permanent level) and find activities that you can use the strong body for that make it all worth it (take up rock climbing, join a soccer league, start running races, take up kayaking or rowing, whatever.) P90X Plus is not the rock-climbing-activity type purpose you are looking for. But it could be the "tolerable exercise" routine that you need after you have your results from the original program and are sort of hitting a wall, as long as you really love P90X.
P90X Plus consists of four new routines (interval, total body, kenpo, upper body), and just to torture everyone there is a new extra ab routine too. Because the first one wasn't bad enough to have to do three times a week. *ahem* Alright, I know. I just loath doing abs. Not because I have some sort of belief that you shouldn't... just because I don't like doing them. (Hey, I'm human. I don't like going to the dentist either, but I do that too.)
I call P90X Plus more of a maintenance routine because it has a shorter, more cardio kind of feel to it. It just seems... well, "lighter" for lack of a better word. Many of the moves incorporated are more advanced, but they're fast, and you run through them quickly. Even the production is different, with a brighter feel. I have to be completely honest here, I was rather underwhelmed with it. I didn't have that "wow, they did a really great job with this whole set" as I did with the original program. In their defense, this isn't a whole program. It's just a supplement to the other one.
What I did like was the intervals being incorporated. I'm a big harper on the intervals. I believe in them. I have personally seen what they can do for my physical results and abilities, as well as for clients I train. Interval training is generally hard, and people whine about it, but seriously you are hard pressed to get a bigger bang for your buck (invested time.) The intervals in P90X Plus are not as intense as I am used to working out when I do them, but the workout lasts a little longer than my normal interval training does, too.
My favorite of the original P90X workouts has always been the Kenpo, and P90X Plus has a new one. This felt more like an aerobics/kick boxing/peppy-class than the feel of the Kenpo from the first one. Not entirely... but the impression was there. Still, I did enjoy it. There are moves in the other workouts that I completely get a kick out of too.
In particular there is a move called the Gladiator. Now, maybe everyone has done this before in other classes or workouts, or maybe you were just seriously obsessed with the Russell Crow movie and were pretending you were fighting gilded warriors in your back yard. But, I am not someone who has done this before. If you don't know me, let me say this: coordination with all four limbs at once is not my strong suit. I'm the woman who would take out the entire back section of a dance line or aerobics class tripping over my own feet. I sooth my ego by rationalizing that as an artist I am exceptionally right hand dominate, and all my coordination has gone there (don't burst my delusional bubble, it works for me.)
Still, I was determined to do this Gladiator move. It just looks like fun, and well... I admit it just looks cool. Alright, when they do it, it looks cool. I am highly embarrassed to admit that the first time I tried it, in mid-air, my son came around the door with a "mommy?" and time seemed to slow. It was like something out of a spoof of the Matrix. I contorted, my head turning in his direction, my body clearly going another, and somehow I had gotten good air on my leap too... right into the toy box. Well, one foot anyway.
"Mommy, whatcha doing? Were you trying to jump into the toy box? Can I do that too? Oh please??!?!"
It occurs to me that while I will have many a story to embarrass my son with when he starts dating, that the moment he realizes he has just as many about me and thus fantastic blackmail material, I am in serious trouble.
Oh, another thing about the toy boxes (the only place for me to workout with DVDs is my basement living/toy room area) - they worked great for another of my favorite moves. In one of the workouts you need two chairs. You have to do a slanted push-up between them, then swing your legs through and into a dip, then back again. I love this move, but I don't have two normal sized chairs. What I did have was two Fischer Price toy boxes, one blue and one pink. I have to tell you, those worked out perfectly for the move... even if I probably did look a little (a lot) silly swinging like George of the Jungle between them.
I may be uncoordinated, but I'm resourceful!
I found it interesting that the DVDs prominently featured Bow-Flex interchangeable dumbbells in the routines. As I had said in my original review of P90X, the timing was difficult with my standard plates (it's even worse with P90X Plus now that they've caught on to swift-changing weights.) I recommended a set called Power Blocks (which I still don't own, because I cannot afford them, but I have used them in a gym and love them), and it seems that the group over at P90X has teamed up with Bow-Flex. As a matter of fact, the ads for Bow-Flex on the new DVDs (including during workout pitching of them) were rather annoying. But in the end, this is a business for them and they're partners with Bow-Flex for the quick change dumbbells. The only thing I have to say about that is that hopefully Bow-Flex has improved their design.
You see, I would love to have a set of dumbbells that I could quickly shift through the various weights with. I have spent years with my set of plates with a screw on lock at each end. I have sliced open my foot with that lock at least four times (sharp edges, heavy lock, dropped it.) I have dropped plates countless times on my feet (luckily not my head.) I just have your standard kind of set, with lots of different sized plates that can be rather big and bulky. Basically, I have the caveman equipment, but I just don't have a lot of money to invest in these gadgets even though I may want to.
I was able to check out Power Blocks and the Bow-Flex version a long while back in a store. The Bow-Flex dumbbells were fine, and then suddenly it just released one of the plates, out of nowhere - Right onto my FOOT! One of the problems I was looking to avoid in the first place! I looked closer to see if it was operator error (very high probably with me involved.) I got the store involved in it, and Mr. Savy. Unfortunately, the only thing we discovered was that we were able to make the error happen repeatedly, and that it wasn't me. So, I steered clear of them.
I don't know if Bow-Flex has updated them or not. I sincerely hope so, but due to my experience with them I cannot recommend them. I need to know when I hold a weight over my head that it isn't suddenly going to decide to drop a 20 lbs segment, because that is just the sort of thing that would happen to me. I'm superior at injuring myself all on my own, I don't need any help in that department.
I'm sure people are going to come out of the woodwork to yell at me how much they disagree with something in this review. That they love Bow-Flex, or something else. That's fine, because here is the thing: I don't work for Beachbody, I don't work for Power Blocks, and I have had no contact with Bow-Flex as a company at all. So, this is simply my opinion. I link to an online store which sells the P90X programs because they offered a savings to those looking for one, and were nice to me when Beachbody (a representative that emailed me and identified themselves as such, I believe the person was just an operator that took orders) took the time to be incredibly rude. And that is something else to consider: I am not particularly impressed with the Beachbody company as a whole. So, if I like one of the routines, it's because I genuinely like it and would recommend it - even though I was treated as I was (and believe me, I tend to stew and hold grudges. It would be a lot easier if the products were just worthless, because then I wouldn't have to temper my irritation with them while trying to give an honest review.)
So, bottom line: did I like P90X Plus? Once I adjusted my mental mind-set to categorizing it as "additions" and more of a "maintenance" kind of set-up, I think it's good for that purpose IF you really like P90X. If you are looking for the "wow" of a whole new program, this just isn't it. But then, it's not advertised as that anyway. I'm not sure where my brain was with my expectations, or why - but once I adjusted, it makes sense. So, I'm not raving about it, but it's not bad either. I think it's a good option for those fit people who want to stick with P90X style workouts but are simply bogged down with the amount of time that goes into it (these routines are shorter, averaging around 40 minutes,) and just need something to liven up the monotony without shifting gears entirely.
Is it going to solve the long term dedication problem? No, because you need to find an active pursuit that you enjoy that puts that strong body of yours to use. Being healthy is about living your life healthy. You are not a hamster on a wheel, so don't expect yourself to be thrilled with just DVDs for the rest of your life. Get out there! Go ride a bike! Go for a hike! Surf! Swim! Whatever!!! But go DO IT! Be that person who is envied by your friends because you are showing off your pictures from the weekend where you suddenly decided to climb to the top of a mountain just because.
You'll never look back once you put all the pieces into place, and then you'll finally be wondering why anyone thinks that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard. It isn't, you simply have to learn to live first.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Chatter
Lately, a lot of people on the net have been delving into the Blog Talk Radio universe. Many of the more popular blogs have their own little chunk of radio real estate, where they talk about just about anything you can think of (from racy to not.) I sort of cruised on by the whole idea, thinking that I really don't have a whole lot to talk about.
Seriously, what would I do a radio show on? My cat? Fluffy socks? Insomnia? Mud season? Paint viscosity?
But then Karl invited me to come and chat on his show in two weeks. I said ok... then listened to Mr. Fab's show and got rather scared. But, Karl has promised to be nice.
Still, this all got me thinking, and we all know how dangerous that is. When I think, furniture gets rearranged, pets run for cover, and items mysteriously engage in spontaneous combustion in my general vicinity. Clearly the universe isn't all that keen on my thought processes. Still, I kept going round and round... what would I talk about if I had a radio show?
Well, this brings me back to fitness. I could blather on about art, but the truth is I'm not all that chatty when it comes to it. I like to sit, absorb, and contemplate art. That means a lot of dead space on the airwaves, which most people tend to discourage in radio. But what do I do a whole heck of a lot of chatting about? Weight loss and fitness. I not only know a lot about it from a educational and certified aspect, but I have been there. I have been 230 lbs, and in a hole both physically and emotionally. I have run a marathon and crossed that line. I have been everywhere in between, and know it forwards and backwards.
Yes, it's not as entertaining as discussing the ways one would disengage themselves from a chair should they find themselves super-glued and only have access to a roll of tape, a paper clip, and a nail file. But, I thought that it might be interesting to some of my weight loss and fitness oriented readers, especially since people can call in and ask questions or contribute... I get a lot of questions emailed to me from here, and I thought that perhaps it might serve a purpose.
So, I guess I am throwing out the question - would anyone be interested in that kind of a show? As I am actually painfully (literally) shy in general, this is a major proposition for me. I may decide to dump the entire thing by the wayside after my stint on Karl's show. Assuming I can even show my blog-face in public afterwards.
Seriously, what would I do a radio show on? My cat? Fluffy socks? Insomnia? Mud season? Paint viscosity?
But then Karl invited me to come and chat on his show in two weeks. I said ok... then listened to Mr. Fab's show and got rather scared. But, Karl has promised to be nice.
Still, this all got me thinking, and we all know how dangerous that is. When I think, furniture gets rearranged, pets run for cover, and items mysteriously engage in spontaneous combustion in my general vicinity. Clearly the universe isn't all that keen on my thought processes. Still, I kept going round and round... what would I talk about if I had a radio show?
Well, this brings me back to fitness. I could blather on about art, but the truth is I'm not all that chatty when it comes to it. I like to sit, absorb, and contemplate art. That means a lot of dead space on the airwaves, which most people tend to discourage in radio. But what do I do a whole heck of a lot of chatting about? Weight loss and fitness. I not only know a lot about it from a educational and certified aspect, but I have been there. I have been 230 lbs, and in a hole both physically and emotionally. I have run a marathon and crossed that line. I have been everywhere in between, and know it forwards and backwards.
Yes, it's not as entertaining as discussing the ways one would disengage themselves from a chair should they find themselves super-glued and only have access to a roll of tape, a paper clip, and a nail file. But, I thought that it might be interesting to some of my weight loss and fitness oriented readers, especially since people can call in and ask questions or contribute... I get a lot of questions emailed to me from here, and I thought that perhaps it might serve a purpose.
So, I guess I am throwing out the question - would anyone be interested in that kind of a show? As I am actually painfully (literally) shy in general, this is a major proposition for me. I may decide to dump the entire thing by the wayside after my stint on Karl's show. Assuming I can even show my blog-face in public afterwards.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
They Have It Easier
This is going to sound like a fitness post for one millisecond, but it's not. I'm fed up. So, I guess it's a rant instead.
One of the biggest arguments I see people get into about "fitness" is who has it easier. There are the people who need to lose weight arguing that the naturally thin people "just trying to bulk up" have it easier than those trying to lose. The thin-bulkers yell back that all the weight loss people have to do is stop eating, how hard is that?
I'm not exactly sure why anyone cares who has it harder, it doesn't make it any easier for you, does it? People do this with other things in life too, the "my life is worse than yours, therefore you have no right to complain! My husband is worse, my dog is ruder, my children care less about me, I have less money, less hair, less shoe selection..." whatever.
So what? What if you win every stupid title of having it worse, does that actually make you feel better? Really? Does it change anything? Does it make the task before you less daunting? Does it make the task before the person you were competing with any easier?
Look at it this way, if you lost a parent is your loss any more worthy of sympathy than the person next to you who also lost theirs? The answer is no, because you don't live their life. You don't get to sit in judgment on them and say because you feel something keenly that the other person's problem is less. They can't possibly feel as bad as you... How would you know?
If you live your life saying that your life is worse than someone else's and not letting people "have their own problems" not only will you still have yours, you are going to be awful lonely during them too.
It's not a fitness mindset, it's a life mindset - and too many people are stuck in it. "I have more weight to lose, I'm poorer, I'm older, I've led a harder life..." the competition changes nothing, except alienates you from others. You are telling everyone else that they don't have the right to feel bad about something in their life that is bothering them, simply because you have stuff in your life bothering you too. Some people use it in order to not find any solutions, they're so caught up with pursuing the "my life is the worst" title and crown that they never even try to make anything better.
You may not have noticed, but this is a big theme in our society, even to the very worst extremes. You have lost a child? Well, sure, you are allowed to feel bad - "but someone ALWAYS has it worse than you!" there is that woman over there who lost all eight of hers, so don't get too caught up in your own sadness. You haven't the right.
Why am I talking about this? Because it's another way people devalue one another, and I'm so damn sick of it. We preach about respecting each other, and then take away the other person's right to feel what they feel about their own lives. Finances, Weight, Marriage, Employment - there isn't a topic that is off limits to that. I knew a woman who had so many problems and was so overwhelmed she took her own life by driving her car head on into traffic where there was an oncoming dump truck. I actually heard people talking a few days later about it and one said "I have no idea why she did it, I mean - suicide? Why? My husband is cheating on me, we're on state assistance... I have it way worse! And you don't see me committing suicide!"
That's right, she was leveraging her problems against a dead woman's. Classy.
All I could think was that I hadn't known the deceased woman well, but maybe if someone had just let her feel she had a right to think her life sucked at that given point and time, and was allowed to express how she felt without everyone else cutting her off and saying that they have it worse and thus no sympathy or empathy for her... well maybe if someone had just let her feel what she felt, she might not have done that. Maybe she still would have, but this cutting people down for their problems has got to stop.
I see it all the time on blogs. Someone has a problem and actually has the guts to post about it... and the comments start pouring in about people who have it worse. Not commiserating and sympathy "yeah, us too, this stinks..." but "you think YOU have it bad?!!!?" type stuff.
You know what? A little understanding goes a long way. Maybe competing with someone else about how bad your situation is won't make you feel better, but how about just listening to someone else for a little bit without devaluing their feelings and situation? You don't have to solve anything, you don't have to demand a ranking of problems because there is no line where they're handing out solutions. You simply have to shut up. How hard is that? Then the next time, someone can listen to you! What a concept, huh?
Stop caring about who has it worse, and just simply care for a change. I know it sounds like work, but it is actually more tiring to constantly tell everyone how it's worse for you than them. It's more draining to hurt another person than it is to help. And yet, people keep doing it. Listening, and caring just the tiniest bit doesn't mean you suffer any less than you do - it just means you are willing to acknowledge that other people are in pain too. That's all. It's such a small thing, even about trivial matters, but it could mean so much and you wouldn't even know it. It could make the difference for that person, the feather that tilts the scale back in the right direction.
It could change the world right there, if only in a little way.
One of the biggest arguments I see people get into about "fitness" is who has it easier. There are the people who need to lose weight arguing that the naturally thin people "just trying to bulk up" have it easier than those trying to lose. The thin-bulkers yell back that all the weight loss people have to do is stop eating, how hard is that?
I'm not exactly sure why anyone cares who has it harder, it doesn't make it any easier for you, does it? People do this with other things in life too, the "my life is worse than yours, therefore you have no right to complain! My husband is worse, my dog is ruder, my children care less about me, I have less money, less hair, less shoe selection..." whatever.
So what? What if you win every stupid title of having it worse, does that actually make you feel better? Really? Does it change anything? Does it make the task before you less daunting? Does it make the task before the person you were competing with any easier?
Look at it this way, if you lost a parent is your loss any more worthy of sympathy than the person next to you who also lost theirs? The answer is no, because you don't live their life. You don't get to sit in judgment on them and say because you feel something keenly that the other person's problem is less. They can't possibly feel as bad as you... How would you know?
If you live your life saying that your life is worse than someone else's and not letting people "have their own problems" not only will you still have yours, you are going to be awful lonely during them too.
It's not a fitness mindset, it's a life mindset - and too many people are stuck in it. "I have more weight to lose, I'm poorer, I'm older, I've led a harder life..." the competition changes nothing, except alienates you from others. You are telling everyone else that they don't have the right to feel bad about something in their life that is bothering them, simply because you have stuff in your life bothering you too. Some people use it in order to not find any solutions, they're so caught up with pursuing the "my life is the worst" title and crown that they never even try to make anything better.
You may not have noticed, but this is a big theme in our society, even to the very worst extremes. You have lost a child? Well, sure, you are allowed to feel bad - "but someone ALWAYS has it worse than you!" there is that woman over there who lost all eight of hers, so don't get too caught up in your own sadness. You haven't the right.
Why am I talking about this? Because it's another way people devalue one another, and I'm so damn sick of it. We preach about respecting each other, and then take away the other person's right to feel what they feel about their own lives. Finances, Weight, Marriage, Employment - there isn't a topic that is off limits to that. I knew a woman who had so many problems and was so overwhelmed she took her own life by driving her car head on into traffic where there was an oncoming dump truck. I actually heard people talking a few days later about it and one said "I have no idea why she did it, I mean - suicide? Why? My husband is cheating on me, we're on state assistance... I have it way worse! And you don't see me committing suicide!"
That's right, she was leveraging her problems against a dead woman's. Classy.
All I could think was that I hadn't known the deceased woman well, but maybe if someone had just let her feel she had a right to think her life sucked at that given point and time, and was allowed to express how she felt without everyone else cutting her off and saying that they have it worse and thus no sympathy or empathy for her... well maybe if someone had just let her feel what she felt, she might not have done that. Maybe she still would have, but this cutting people down for their problems has got to stop.
I see it all the time on blogs. Someone has a problem and actually has the guts to post about it... and the comments start pouring in about people who have it worse. Not commiserating and sympathy "yeah, us too, this stinks..." but "you think YOU have it bad?!!!?" type stuff.
You know what? A little understanding goes a long way. Maybe competing with someone else about how bad your situation is won't make you feel better, but how about just listening to someone else for a little bit without devaluing their feelings and situation? You don't have to solve anything, you don't have to demand a ranking of problems because there is no line where they're handing out solutions. You simply have to shut up. How hard is that? Then the next time, someone can listen to you! What a concept, huh?
Stop caring about who has it worse, and just simply care for a change. I know it sounds like work, but it is actually more tiring to constantly tell everyone how it's worse for you than them. It's more draining to hurt another person than it is to help. And yet, people keep doing it. Listening, and caring just the tiniest bit doesn't mean you suffer any less than you do - it just means you are willing to acknowledge that other people are in pain too. That's all. It's such a small thing, even about trivial matters, but it could mean so much and you wouldn't even know it. It could make the difference for that person, the feather that tilts the scale back in the right direction.
It could change the world right there, if only in a little way.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Most Important Ingredient
I find it interesting that I get so many emails from PR and marketing people on new diet and fitness programs and books. They want me to evaluate them, and review them, or simply promote them. Some of them are legit and interesting to me, but I simply don't have enough time right now to dedicate to it. Others are simply stupid and along the lines of something like "hiccup your way to a size 2!"
There are so many plans and books and programs out there just begging for your attention. Watch television, and you are bombarded with ads from all sides. Go to the grocery store, and you are surrounded by diet-this and diet-that. Walk into a book store, and you could be risking your life via avalanche from the books stacked 20 feet above your head, their brightly colored jackets and photos of six-pack-abs gleaming back at you.
I was in a Barnes & Noble recently, and I wandered through the fitness/diet section of the store (on my way to the Science Fiction and Romance novels, because I need brain candy!) In the aisle were two women I judged to be in their mid 40's, each needing to lose a decent amount of weight. They were so confused, looking at this book and then that book, comparing the claims on the front. I over heard when one of them said to the other "I just keep hoping they'll come out with the book just for me. The one that understands me and makes it easy."
I haven't written a diet book. I don't sell diet plans. I'm not even taking on clients for personal training right now (I have to sleep some time you know.) So when I tell you this, I don't have to worry about some publisher showing up at my door and beating me up: You will never find a book just for you, a diet plan just for you, a food line just for you. You will never find the ultimate answer from some fitness guru, tanned and ripped and glossy white teeth flashing promises in your direction. There will never be a piece of equipment or a pill which will solve all the moments of angst over your weight, frustration over your dress size, or health concerns. Never. Ever.
EVER.
Worse, all those scientists are coming out and telling everyone that the whole mathematics part of dieting isn't so simple (which most of us had figured out a while ago, but we were still hoping we were wrong. We want it to be easy too!) Not everyone gains a straight on pound from eating in excess of 3,500 calories, nor do they lose it with a deficit of the same. There are other variables, and your body isn't so simple as to operate like a checkbook mirroring everyone else's with inescapable logic and precision without deviation from the tally columns. There is no perfect food that by eating it you will magically feel full and shed the weight and be healthy. There is no one-size-fits-all easy answer.
What there IS are many good ideas out there (and a whole lot of bad ones, which we know all too well.) Diet plans, fitness plans, and so on are like people's houses. Take a coffee table: people arrange different things in different ways to please the eye and themselves. It works for them, and if you like it you can have it work for you too at your house. It's an odd comparison, but that is what a diet book/plan is like. It's an organization of ideas in a way that works for someone else and could work for you too.
That's IT. 99.99999% of plans have the same ideas, just strung together a little differently. So why is it that there are SO many books, machines, plans, pills, and promises?
What none of those plans can do is control you. Could you make an apple pie without apples? It would be rather pointless, wouldn't it? You cannot make a successful healthy change without you. If you don't commit and make all the effort and put in all the work, it doesn't matter - it's just an apple pie with no apples. A fitness plan, without a success story.
My biggest complaint about plans, books, equipment, and companies out there in the industry is that they try to take all the credit. I remember long, long ago going to a weight meeting (not WW, I won't name it) and they all stood up and said the group mantra together. It was meant to inspire and make everyone feel like they were in it together, and whatever else. But part of it was about how any success was due to the program.
I refused to say it. More than that, I went back only one more time and found it made me so mad that I couldn't return again. Why? Because ANY success you have is due to you, and no one else. You read a book that arranges things in a way that works for you? Great. But any results you have are due 100% to YOUR OWN EFFORT. You can read a million articles on how to get fit, but none of them will actually make any difference without you. You are the power, they are only an idea.
As a trainer, I believe this whole-heartedly. It doesn't matter if I show up, it only matters if YOU do. You hire a trainer for ideas, and a witness to your effort - but NOT to share in your success. As a person who struggled with my weight for years (and still does on occasion,) getting control of your health and fitness is hard work, and I'll be damned before I'll put all the praise for the results at someone else's feet.
The down side to this is that the reverse is also true: refuse to try, don't achieve results and goals, live in an unhealthy and unhappy body and you have no one else to blame. It's a pretty uncomfortable feeling, which is why it's so easy to look to someone else. If they have the plan, the answer, the responsibility for your success... well then maybe they carry the blame for you not being there yet too. After all, if they had all the answers and you just heard about them - well, it can't be your fault right?
Don't misunderstand, there are a lot of confusing concepts out there. Even worse, there are plenty of people muddying up the water with false promises, snake oil, and other horrible things that they're trying to sell you. It gets confusing. I didn't become a trainer because I was so in love with exercise that I wanted to share it with all my friends (I'm still that girl cussing a blue streak at 5 AM on a run, or dropping dumbbells on my toes because I was thinking of all the other things I could be doing... but still working out anyway.) I became a trainer because I was done with being confused. I was tired of not understanding what I was looking at, and trying to achieve, and working so hard and yet going no where. I wanted to know why, and not be sold another powder or dvd or book. I felt that it couldn't be that mysterious, humans have been around for a VERY long time and only now are we blobs with no direction.
So what did I learn? I learned that there isn't ANY magic to it at all, and anything of value in the marketplace is based off of the real information and good ideas that are at the core of it all - MOST of which you already know, and the technical stuff that isn't necessary for most people you really don't have to worry about. So what that means is that there are many flavors of the same concept out there. So... what's the difference? Well, it's you, silly!
Find the plan that doesn't promise unicorns or a size 2 in three weeks. Find realistic ideas that make sense and work for you. Then make them your ideas, because if you don't they're just another idea instead of an action. Another apple pie, without any apples.
You are the one with the power. You are the one with the accomplishments and success. You are the one who controls everything, and makes the decision - you are your own fitness guru. YOU are the most important ingredient.
There are so many plans and books and programs out there just begging for your attention. Watch television, and you are bombarded with ads from all sides. Go to the grocery store, and you are surrounded by diet-this and diet-that. Walk into a book store, and you could be risking your life via avalanche from the books stacked 20 feet above your head, their brightly colored jackets and photos of six-pack-abs gleaming back at you.
I was in a Barnes & Noble recently, and I wandered through the fitness/diet section of the store (on my way to the Science Fiction and Romance novels, because I need brain candy!) In the aisle were two women I judged to be in their mid 40's, each needing to lose a decent amount of weight. They were so confused, looking at this book and then that book, comparing the claims on the front. I over heard when one of them said to the other "I just keep hoping they'll come out with the book just for me. The one that understands me and makes it easy."
I haven't written a diet book. I don't sell diet plans. I'm not even taking on clients for personal training right now (I have to sleep some time you know.) So when I tell you this, I don't have to worry about some publisher showing up at my door and beating me up: You will never find a book just for you, a diet plan just for you, a food line just for you. You will never find the ultimate answer from some fitness guru, tanned and ripped and glossy white teeth flashing promises in your direction. There will never be a piece of equipment or a pill which will solve all the moments of angst over your weight, frustration over your dress size, or health concerns. Never. Ever.
EVER.
Worse, all those scientists are coming out and telling everyone that the whole mathematics part of dieting isn't so simple (which most of us had figured out a while ago, but we were still hoping we were wrong. We want it to be easy too!) Not everyone gains a straight on pound from eating in excess of 3,500 calories, nor do they lose it with a deficit of the same. There are other variables, and your body isn't so simple as to operate like a checkbook mirroring everyone else's with inescapable logic and precision without deviation from the tally columns. There is no perfect food that by eating it you will magically feel full and shed the weight and be healthy. There is no one-size-fits-all easy answer.
What there IS are many good ideas out there (and a whole lot of bad ones, which we know all too well.) Diet plans, fitness plans, and so on are like people's houses. Take a coffee table: people arrange different things in different ways to please the eye and themselves. It works for them, and if you like it you can have it work for you too at your house. It's an odd comparison, but that is what a diet book/plan is like. It's an organization of ideas in a way that works for someone else and could work for you too.
That's IT. 99.99999% of plans have the same ideas, just strung together a little differently. So why is it that there are SO many books, machines, plans, pills, and promises?
What none of those plans can do is control you. Could you make an apple pie without apples? It would be rather pointless, wouldn't it? You cannot make a successful healthy change without you. If you don't commit and make all the effort and put in all the work, it doesn't matter - it's just an apple pie with no apples. A fitness plan, without a success story.
My biggest complaint about plans, books, equipment, and companies out there in the industry is that they try to take all the credit. I remember long, long ago going to a weight meeting (not WW, I won't name it) and they all stood up and said the group mantra together. It was meant to inspire and make everyone feel like they were in it together, and whatever else. But part of it was about how any success was due to the program.
I refused to say it. More than that, I went back only one more time and found it made me so mad that I couldn't return again. Why? Because ANY success you have is due to you, and no one else. You read a book that arranges things in a way that works for you? Great. But any results you have are due 100% to YOUR OWN EFFORT. You can read a million articles on how to get fit, but none of them will actually make any difference without you. You are the power, they are only an idea.
As a trainer, I believe this whole-heartedly. It doesn't matter if I show up, it only matters if YOU do. You hire a trainer for ideas, and a witness to your effort - but NOT to share in your success. As a person who struggled with my weight for years (and still does on occasion,) getting control of your health and fitness is hard work, and I'll be damned before I'll put all the praise for the results at someone else's feet.
The down side to this is that the reverse is also true: refuse to try, don't achieve results and goals, live in an unhealthy and unhappy body and you have no one else to blame. It's a pretty uncomfortable feeling, which is why it's so easy to look to someone else. If they have the plan, the answer, the responsibility for your success... well then maybe they carry the blame for you not being there yet too. After all, if they had all the answers and you just heard about them - well, it can't be your fault right?
Don't misunderstand, there are a lot of confusing concepts out there. Even worse, there are plenty of people muddying up the water with false promises, snake oil, and other horrible things that they're trying to sell you. It gets confusing. I didn't become a trainer because I was so in love with exercise that I wanted to share it with all my friends (I'm still that girl cussing a blue streak at 5 AM on a run, or dropping dumbbells on my toes because I was thinking of all the other things I could be doing... but still working out anyway.) I became a trainer because I was done with being confused. I was tired of not understanding what I was looking at, and trying to achieve, and working so hard and yet going no where. I wanted to know why, and not be sold another powder or dvd or book. I felt that it couldn't be that mysterious, humans have been around for a VERY long time and only now are we blobs with no direction.
So what did I learn? I learned that there isn't ANY magic to it at all, and anything of value in the marketplace is based off of the real information and good ideas that are at the core of it all - MOST of which you already know, and the technical stuff that isn't necessary for most people you really don't have to worry about. So what that means is that there are many flavors of the same concept out there. So... what's the difference? Well, it's you, silly!
Find the plan that doesn't promise unicorns or a size 2 in three weeks. Find realistic ideas that make sense and work for you. Then make them your ideas, because if you don't they're just another idea instead of an action. Another apple pie, without any apples.
You are the one with the power. You are the one with the accomplishments and success. You are the one who controls everything, and makes the decision - you are your own fitness guru. YOU are the most important ingredient.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Trackers
I get a lot of emails about tracking programs. This is good, because tracking what you eat will help you see what you are actually taking in and make you realize that every crumb counts (including those taste tests while cooking.) There are a lot out there, and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. You have to pick what will work best for you. Some people need portable versions for the blackberry-type-devices, and others just want something they can check in fast with online or on their home computer.
There are a lot of tools that people can use to track their food intake, recipe ingredient breakdowns, and fitness routines. One of my favorites had been Diet Power. I hadn't used it in a while (since my computer crashed, but we installed it on the new one here) but I thought I would take it out and dust it off and use it again. However, it turns out my edition (4.0) doesn't jive with Vista (even though Vista is supposed to work with the old windows working programs too - Microsoft, you are NOT impressing me.)
The diet industry is competitive and constantly shifting. So, whatever program you go with, make sure you look at how they run their business. The free ones might only be free for a short time, or only give you access to half the stuff you need and then you'll have to pay through the nose to have total access. The paid ones might keep updating editions and requiring you to pay to update even to fix bugs in their systems. Some of the systems are subscriptions and you think you are paying one price for the software, and it turns out it's a recurring fee instead.
So, what's good, and what does it cost? Let me preface this with the fact that I am not selling any of these programs and make NO commission or anything else from you clicking through or buying. In other words, my only bias is my own.
Online Programs:
Fit Day : The program I originally began with. Online, free. There is a paid version for $20 (Fit Day PC) but I haven't tried it. It's a good basic tracker, but I have found that a lot of foods are missing from the database. It can over estimate calories burned (by a LOT) for exercise. Also, some people go off-track by inputting everything they did as calorie burning activities - like doing dishes, etc. The thing you need to understand is that your daily recommendations are for daily activities as well. You don't need to add the activity in for your daily totals unless it's real physical exercise - this goes for ALL programs out there.
The Daily Plate: has a free version, with a good selection of food and activities. There is a paid version (upgrade, subscription $45 for the year right now.) I've been playing around with this free version and I have to say I really like it. It has a smoother layout and good database, superior over Fit Day. Out of the free ones out there, this is my favorite so far that I have come across.
My Calorie Counter: Online, Free. There is a premium version for $5 a month. I've done some exploring with this one (free version only) and they seem to have a nice set up with charts and layouts. They have a better food database than Fit Day, but showing things like food totals is a "premium service" so in some ways you are restricted from the whole reason you need a tracker to begin with, without paying the subscription service. They do offer support boards, a blog page, and so on for members - so for those who want access to everything and are willing to pay $5 a month, it isn't a bad choice.
In the $5 a month range, there are a lot of options from many sites, so I won't go into them all.
iVillage: has a free online diet/fitness tracker. iVillage also has a lot of forums and more if you feel the need to be involved in a lot of groups and have access to a lot of articles. It's VERY simplistic, and not detailed. But if all you want is a tiny basic check in more than a tracker it's a decent way to go.
My Pyramid Tracker: The USDA launched this a while ago. It's free, but not as detailed as most of the programs offered out there.
Programs to Use on Your Computer:
As stated above, Fit Day has a PC upgraded version. I do not have any experience with this, but I have heard from others who like it.
Diet Organizer: There are portable versions like the one that runs on Blackberrys, mobil phones, other PDAs, etc. Pretty simplistic, (portable is excel-like program), but it gets the job done. Journal, charts, tracking, etc. (DietOrganizer PC runs on Microsoft Windows Vista, XP and 2000.)
On the Blackberry front, there are a LOT of food tracking programs out there for the portables. As I don't have a portable anything, I'm not going to go into them.
Protrak 2008: This program has intrigued me for a little while now. I have not used it personally, but I have played with a friend's version. In addition to all the normal tracking stuff, it also monitors your personal fitness goals. It allows you to track weights, reps, and so on, and apparently comes with pre-designed workouts (with instructions) you can take with you to the gym, as well as compiling your own workouts and totals. I like this because of the ease of use, as well as a focus on FITNESS. Yes, weight loss is everyone's main goal for the most part, but being fit is the real prize. The food tracking portion also allows for creation of your own recipes, etc. System requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista. (Sorry, there is no version of ProTrack available for the Macintosh.) Hard disk with at least 65 MB free disk space.Works with printers supported by Windows. $34.95 (this program has "upgrades" which cost money, so be aware.)
Diet Power : Has a good program. Diet Power tracks food, exercise, has recipes included and have a section for you to input your own recipes for a break down of the values, and save it for you to input it in your diary. They also have a metabolism tracker which is decent once it has enough data on you, including adjustments for water shifts. $49.99. It is a wonderful program at it's heart - I cannot really say anything bad about it.
**(update on Diet Power: The CEO has been emailing and working with me. I'm switching over to the 4.4 version and seeing how that works. I'll post a better review of it, once I get a good grasp of the changes.)
On your own:
And remember, you can always use the Nutritional Values (this is one of the best sites for it, NutritionData.com), and just track your food yourself with excel or just some scratch paper. It's really the calculating you are after, the work of inputting is up to you. There are a lot of homemade excel programs you can download to make it easier on yourself. I believe Maggie (my partner in Pink Dumbbells, free women's fitness site) has designed several herself (some of which might be up for downloading if you explore her blog site.)
Bottom line? Find the one that has everything you need, costs what you are willing to pay, and suits you. What am I going to use? Right now I have downloaded the trial of Diet Power 4.4 after talking with the company. I'll let you know how it goes.
There are a lot of tools that people can use to track their food intake, recipe ingredient breakdowns, and fitness routines. One of my favorites had been Diet Power. I hadn't used it in a while (since my computer crashed, but we installed it on the new one here) but I thought I would take it out and dust it off and use it again. However, it turns out my edition (4.0) doesn't jive with Vista (even though Vista is supposed to work with the old windows working programs too - Microsoft, you are NOT impressing me.)
The diet industry is competitive and constantly shifting. So, whatever program you go with, make sure you look at how they run their business. The free ones might only be free for a short time, or only give you access to half the stuff you need and then you'll have to pay through the nose to have total access. The paid ones might keep updating editions and requiring you to pay to update even to fix bugs in their systems. Some of the systems are subscriptions and you think you are paying one price for the software, and it turns out it's a recurring fee instead.
So, what's good, and what does it cost? Let me preface this with the fact that I am not selling any of these programs and make NO commission or anything else from you clicking through or buying. In other words, my only bias is my own.
Online Programs:
Fit Day : The program I originally began with. Online, free. There is a paid version for $20 (Fit Day PC) but I haven't tried it. It's a good basic tracker, but I have found that a lot of foods are missing from the database. It can over estimate calories burned (by a LOT) for exercise. Also, some people go off-track by inputting everything they did as calorie burning activities - like doing dishes, etc. The thing you need to understand is that your daily recommendations are for daily activities as well. You don't need to add the activity in for your daily totals unless it's real physical exercise - this goes for ALL programs out there.
The Daily Plate: has a free version, with a good selection of food and activities. There is a paid version (upgrade, subscription $45 for the year right now.) I've been playing around with this free version and I have to say I really like it. It has a smoother layout and good database, superior over Fit Day. Out of the free ones out there, this is my favorite so far that I have come across.
My Calorie Counter: Online, Free. There is a premium version for $5 a month. I've done some exploring with this one (free version only) and they seem to have a nice set up with charts and layouts. They have a better food database than Fit Day, but showing things like food totals is a "premium service" so in some ways you are restricted from the whole reason you need a tracker to begin with, without paying the subscription service. They do offer support boards, a blog page, and so on for members - so for those who want access to everything and are willing to pay $5 a month, it isn't a bad choice.
In the $5 a month range, there are a lot of options from many sites, so I won't go into them all.
iVillage: has a free online diet/fitness tracker. iVillage also has a lot of forums and more if you feel the need to be involved in a lot of groups and have access to a lot of articles. It's VERY simplistic, and not detailed. But if all you want is a tiny basic check in more than a tracker it's a decent way to go.
My Pyramid Tracker: The USDA launched this a while ago. It's free, but not as detailed as most of the programs offered out there.
Programs to Use on Your Computer:
As stated above, Fit Day has a PC upgraded version. I do not have any experience with this, but I have heard from others who like it.
Diet Organizer: There are portable versions like the one that runs on Blackberrys, mobil phones, other PDAs, etc. Pretty simplistic, (portable is excel-like program), but it gets the job done. Journal, charts, tracking, etc. (DietOrganizer PC runs on Microsoft Windows Vista, XP and 2000.)
On the Blackberry front, there are a LOT of food tracking programs out there for the portables. As I don't have a portable anything, I'm not going to go into them.
Protrak 2008: This program has intrigued me for a little while now. I have not used it personally, but I have played with a friend's version. In addition to all the normal tracking stuff, it also monitors your personal fitness goals. It allows you to track weights, reps, and so on, and apparently comes with pre-designed workouts (with instructions) you can take with you to the gym, as well as compiling your own workouts and totals. I like this because of the ease of use, as well as a focus on FITNESS. Yes, weight loss is everyone's main goal for the most part, but being fit is the real prize. The food tracking portion also allows for creation of your own recipes, etc. System requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista. (Sorry, there is no version of ProTrack available for the Macintosh.) Hard disk with at least 65 MB free disk space.Works with printers supported by Windows. $34.95 (this program has "upgrades" which cost money, so be aware.)
Diet Power : Has a good program. Diet Power tracks food, exercise, has recipes included and have a section for you to input your own recipes for a break down of the values, and save it for you to input it in your diary. They also have a metabolism tracker which is decent once it has enough data on you, including adjustments for water shifts. $49.99. It is a wonderful program at it's heart - I cannot really say anything bad about it.
**(update on Diet Power: The CEO has been emailing and working with me. I'm switching over to the 4.4 version and seeing how that works. I'll post a better review of it, once I get a good grasp of the changes.)
On your own:
And remember, you can always use the Nutritional Values (this is one of the best sites for it, NutritionData.com), and just track your food yourself with excel or just some scratch paper. It's really the calculating you are after, the work of inputting is up to you. There are a lot of homemade excel programs you can download to make it easier on yourself. I believe Maggie (my partner in Pink Dumbbells, free women's fitness site) has designed several herself (some of which might be up for downloading if you explore her blog site.)
Bottom line? Find the one that has everything you need, costs what you are willing to pay, and suits you. What am I going to use? Right now I have downloaded the trial of Diet Power 4.4 after talking with the company. I'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Calling All Challengers
I'm putting a shout out to anyone interested in losing weight, toning up, running a race, or whatever fitness goal you have. Pink Dumbbells, www.PinkDumbbells.com (a fitness site that Maggie and I run together) is hosting a Mega Challenge! You can follow whatever plan you want to reach whatever goal you have in mind, and have all of us to support you and cheer you along the way!
It's free (the site and the challenge.) No strings. No catches. Nothing.
All levels welcome, from fit to just thinking about it.
So, if you have been looking for an opportunity to improve yourself - we're knocking! Come and join us!
It's free (the site and the challenge.) No strings. No catches. Nothing.
All levels welcome, from fit to just thinking about it.
So, if you have been looking for an opportunity to improve yourself - we're knocking! Come and join us!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Because I Don't Want To!
Human nature is a peculiar thing. We'll go to the ends of the earth for something on our own, but if someone else tells us we need to do so we don't want to simply because they told us to. In some recent discussions about diet and exercise (but mostly diet) I have found that a reason a lot of people don't stick to their diet isn't because of a craving or a mood, but defiance.
People do not like being told that they cannot have that bag of chips, or that donut - even if they don't actually want it. They don't like being told that they need to exercise, even if they were in the mood to go for a walk. As a personal trainer, it's been an interesting phenomenon to watch. People will literally set out to defy what someone else has suggested that they do - even when they pay for it. My own father freely admits that he will never diet/eat healthy on any plan whatsoever because he resents anyone telling him what he can and cannot eat and he doesn't know how to do it on his own - lovely logic, eh? (And meanwhile my mother is fretting over his ever increasing waistline, freaking out, and likely making his "rebellion" even worse.)
It's not that I don't understand the compulsion to reject the dictates of others. Far from it actually. I'm so adverse to being told what to do that I can only work for myself, so I'm close to the queen of rebellion in that sense. It infuriates me if someone sticks their nose into my grocery cart and tells me I shouldn't be buying this or that. People LOVE to shoulder into other's business. They LOVE to try and tell others what to do. It's annoying as hell. So, I completely understand the desire when someone tells you not to eat junk food to whip open a Reese's and shove both cups in your mouth right in front of them.
The problem is, this only ends up compounding the problem in most cases. I used to be furious at all those people, magazines, and shows that insisted I was a waste of humanity if I wasn't a size 2. Actually, I'm still pretty angry that the media and many people still do this. However, my rebellion was to go bawl my eyes out and sneak food down into my pity-party den, which resulted in taking myself that much farther down my personal path of destruction. In some ways, I think I was trying to say "See? I'm a complete loser by your standards, yet I still have value!" But it never really worked out too well. In the end, those jerks wrote me off as not worth their time because I wasn't thin, and anything I had inside that was worth something was ignored anyway and devalued by me because I looked for justification from others instead of myself.
I have been asked many times what is it that clicked, what made me turn around my 230 lbs spiral, and back it up? Those who know me know that I didn't go out and join a weight loss group or start some fantastic diet. I did it myself, on my own, trying to figure it out without someone telling me what to do (sound familiar?) So what was the turning point? What made me change?
Well, to be honest, I got really angry. Mostly at myself for being so stupid. Why on earth would I place any store by what people thought if the only qualifying factor was my dress size? Worse, why was I placing store by my own opinions based on my dress size? Both they and I had written myself off as a waste of space on this earth. Being a depressive sort, it really came down to realizing that if I was a waste of space - why not end it all? Why? Because THAT would have been the ultimate height of stupidity. Suicide over pant size and chocolate cake? Seriously? Pathetic. And I was DONE being pathetic.
People say anger is a destructive emotion. I disagree. I think anger is rightly compared to fire. Sure, it can burn and destroy, but it can heat, shape, cleanse, and cause change. Sometimes you need to light the fuse to get things to happen, even with yourself. The whole phrase "fueled off of anger" is not without its merits. Anger sustained me through the changes in behavior and lifestyle, success paved the path the rest of the way - partnered with knowledge that I gained by opening up my ears and at least listening to what others had to say in books, online, and so on.
I'm still not great at being told what to do directly to my face, but at least I can file away what they have said to pull it apart later (when the emotions have dulled a bit) and see if there was any value in the statements. I also believe the biggest contributing factor in all of this was realizing that the reason so many people feel they have to try and tell you what to do is really because YOU hold 100% of the power over you. So, even if you do take someone's supposed "advice" the truth is, it's because YOU decided to choose that option, not because they told you to.
Literally, the choice is 100% yours. What everyone else tells you to do is irrelevant. They're just post-it notes with options, not obligations. Choosing the right path for you does not mean giving any power to the person who pointed the information out in the first place. They're still powerless, even if they try to tell themselves differently. Any success you achieve is your own - just as you own your failures. This is true in life as well as fitness and weight loss.
It's that realization that stopped the weight gain and started the weight loss, that lead to me running a marathon, that enabled me to choose to go back to university, and everything else that has followed. The only trick is remembering that this is the truth no matter what anyone else tells you. But I will tell you this; it gets easier to remember with time and practice. So don't do anything because someone told you to - do something because YOU SAID SO.
People do not like being told that they cannot have that bag of chips, or that donut - even if they don't actually want it. They don't like being told that they need to exercise, even if they were in the mood to go for a walk. As a personal trainer, it's been an interesting phenomenon to watch. People will literally set out to defy what someone else has suggested that they do - even when they pay for it. My own father freely admits that he will never diet/eat healthy on any plan whatsoever because he resents anyone telling him what he can and cannot eat and he doesn't know how to do it on his own - lovely logic, eh? (And meanwhile my mother is fretting over his ever increasing waistline, freaking out, and likely making his "rebellion" even worse.)
It's not that I don't understand the compulsion to reject the dictates of others. Far from it actually. I'm so adverse to being told what to do that I can only work for myself, so I'm close to the queen of rebellion in that sense. It infuriates me if someone sticks their nose into my grocery cart and tells me I shouldn't be buying this or that. People LOVE to shoulder into other's business. They LOVE to try and tell others what to do. It's annoying as hell. So, I completely understand the desire when someone tells you not to eat junk food to whip open a Reese's and shove both cups in your mouth right in front of them.
The problem is, this only ends up compounding the problem in most cases. I used to be furious at all those people, magazines, and shows that insisted I was a waste of humanity if I wasn't a size 2. Actually, I'm still pretty angry that the media and many people still do this. However, my rebellion was to go bawl my eyes out and sneak food down into my pity-party den, which resulted in taking myself that much farther down my personal path of destruction. In some ways, I think I was trying to say "See? I'm a complete loser by your standards, yet I still have value!" But it never really worked out too well. In the end, those jerks wrote me off as not worth their time because I wasn't thin, and anything I had inside that was worth something was ignored anyway and devalued by me because I looked for justification from others instead of myself.
I have been asked many times what is it that clicked, what made me turn around my 230 lbs spiral, and back it up? Those who know me know that I didn't go out and join a weight loss group or start some fantastic diet. I did it myself, on my own, trying to figure it out without someone telling me what to do (sound familiar?) So what was the turning point? What made me change?
Well, to be honest, I got really angry. Mostly at myself for being so stupid. Why on earth would I place any store by what people thought if the only qualifying factor was my dress size? Worse, why was I placing store by my own opinions based on my dress size? Both they and I had written myself off as a waste of space on this earth. Being a depressive sort, it really came down to realizing that if I was a waste of space - why not end it all? Why? Because THAT would have been the ultimate height of stupidity. Suicide over pant size and chocolate cake? Seriously? Pathetic. And I was DONE being pathetic.
People say anger is a destructive emotion. I disagree. I think anger is rightly compared to fire. Sure, it can burn and destroy, but it can heat, shape, cleanse, and cause change. Sometimes you need to light the fuse to get things to happen, even with yourself. The whole phrase "fueled off of anger" is not without its merits. Anger sustained me through the changes in behavior and lifestyle, success paved the path the rest of the way - partnered with knowledge that I gained by opening up my ears and at least listening to what others had to say in books, online, and so on.
I'm still not great at being told what to do directly to my face, but at least I can file away what they have said to pull it apart later (when the emotions have dulled a bit) and see if there was any value in the statements. I also believe the biggest contributing factor in all of this was realizing that the reason so many people feel they have to try and tell you what to do is really because YOU hold 100% of the power over you. So, even if you do take someone's supposed "advice" the truth is, it's because YOU decided to choose that option, not because they told you to.
Literally, the choice is 100% yours. What everyone else tells you to do is irrelevant. They're just post-it notes with options, not obligations. Choosing the right path for you does not mean giving any power to the person who pointed the information out in the first place. They're still powerless, even if they try to tell themselves differently. Any success you achieve is your own - just as you own your failures. This is true in life as well as fitness and weight loss.
It's that realization that stopped the weight gain and started the weight loss, that lead to me running a marathon, that enabled me to choose to go back to university, and everything else that has followed. The only trick is remembering that this is the truth no matter what anyone else tells you. But I will tell you this; it gets easier to remember with time and practice. So don't do anything because someone told you to - do something because YOU SAID SO.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Change of Plans
I have changed my mind. I'm going to do another round of P90X starting Sunday. However, I'm going to probably NOT do it for the three weeks I am in AZ, and actually BE on vacation. Then again... I'll be at my parents, and I might be bored out of my mind. Heck, I may end up doing doubles at that rate...
Nah. I'll be in the swimming pool. Who am I kidding? So that's six solid weeks (a smidgen more) until I head out. We'll see what happens. I'm just in the mood to buckle down, and I'll have more time to spend on it after today. Still planning on my adventurous walks as well.
Will I take photos? No, because my STUPID camera is broken. But I'll track other things for the masses of the curious. ;)
Nah. I'll be in the swimming pool. Who am I kidding? So that's six solid weeks (a smidgen more) until I head out. We'll see what happens. I'm just in the mood to buckle down, and I'll have more time to spend on it after today. Still planning on my adventurous walks as well.
Will I take photos? No, because my STUPID camera is broken. But I'll track other things for the masses of the curious. ;)
Monday, July 10, 2006
P90X Review
I feel it's probably time I posted my review of P90X, since I have gotten a lot of emailed questions on it. (Edit: Ultimate Fitness has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5off)
I initially started off with the standard P90X, and then switched to P90X Lean (in order to not beat up my husband, due to some scheduling issues.) Because I have done a big portion of both versions, I feel I can offer a pretty well rounded report on it.
The first thing I want to establish is a reminder of where I have come from over the past...Oh.... Eight years. I went from sedentary (220+ lbs), to cardio bunny (mostly tae-bo), to weight training, and then on to the serious fitness freak that you see before you today. I did NOT start this program after getting up off my couch one day and deciding it was the one for me.
This program is NOT a good starting point for ANYONE. I am speaking most directly to those men, and you know who you are, who regardless of your actual fitness level, assume that you can handle anything at any level, simply because of your testosterone and Y chromosome. I'm married to one of these "I can do anything" types, and trust me: he tried P90X, suffered, and dropped it - and he isn't a completely unfit guy either.
If you are interested in P90X, male or female - drop the ego and take their fitness test. For REAL. It will replace your normal workout, because it takes about 40 minutes. It's not a marketing gimmick, it's a necessary thing you should do. Because, if you can't hit everything you need to on the fitness test, you not only aren't ready for P90X, but you might cause yourself injury if you try it.
Now that I have scared everyone off, lets back up for a minute. It's not THAT bad, but you do need a certain higher level of core fitness in order to start in on this program. If you don't have that, there are a lot of places to start. If you have a long way to go, I recommend a doctor's clearance and then daily walks and body weight moves (like push-ups, sit-ups, etc), ramping up to a harder regimen. I also highly recommend Body For Life (NOT NOT NOT BFL for Women, that book is a total waste of good paper, and Eating for life is a good MAINTENANCE cookbook, but not so hot for an actual plan - and by the way, all the success photos/stories in the cookbook are from the ORIGINAL BFL plan, not EFL), but as the ORIGINAL plan was intended. Ignore the "official" website, and all the stupid tweaks people have tried to twist it with. Half.com has a ton of cheap copies ($1.37 when last I checked), so it won't even cost you much to look into it. Once you have completed that, you may or may not be ready for something like P90X, but you can try the fitness test again and find out where your weaknesses are.
The system is a set of DVD workouts which involve a ton of body-weight moves (like push-ups, pull-ups, plyometric moves, etc) as well as cardio and weight training cycles. The equipment you will require is a large enough space to go bouncing about in all directions without causing serious injury or property damage, free-weights of varying sizes, a chin-up bar/station, a yoga mat and blocks, and some people also use bands, as well as push-up bars (optional.)
**A note about the bands - I bought a set from Walmart. I snapped those suckers in half. They stink, don't buy them from Walmart or any of the other major retailers. You need a set of HIGH quality bands if you are going to be using them. I do not know if the set they sell through the Beachbody website are high quality or not, but you can try them or a serious fitness retailer. You need at least a medium weighted resistance band and the heaviest one they have (to mimic pull-ups if you can't do them.)
Personally, I have an interchangeable set of dumbbells with plates. This worked out OK, but there were times I had to hit the pause button because I couldn't get it set up quickly enough. If you have the cash (which I do not), I highly recommend PowerBlocks. I also have a Power-Tower station for the pull-ups. You can buy a standard chin-up bar from a major retailer for about $6, or you can invest in their fancy junglebar version for about $40. My power tower ($70) was a personal "I gotta HAVE IT!" freak-out, so it's not necessary. I just wanted a station that was good for not only pull-ups, but dips, leg raises and other exercises. Yes, I know, fitness freak. But for P90X , you only need the pull-up station, with the ability to do both wide and close handed grips.
The actual workouts range from a plyometric workout, core and cardio, to several weight/target area workouts (like legs & back, or shoulders & arms, etc). There is also a 90 minute Yoga session which you do every week, as well as a cardio workout of Kenpo. My favorite of all the workouts is the Kenpo, because I'm a sucker for anything that involves fighting moves - serious or not. I also value the yoga that has been incorporated because it has helped with some flexibility issues I was struggling with. Since the yoga also comes dead center of the week, it also relieves some tightness that you end up acquiring through the earlier workouts.
The weight workouts are good because there isn't a ton of monotony. You have a lot of different exercises you move through, and you never get bored because of that. The pull-ups aren't as bad as they sound. Yes, they're HARD. Yes, you end up doing a LOT of them. But there are ways to "spot" yourself, and assist with the pull-up until you can switch over to doing them without assistance. The DVD does show you how to do this, even expects you to. If you are interested in just learning about how to get your body doing pull-ups, Stumtuous.com has a whole "how-to" for you to get in gear.
These workouts are hard-core, but they're also geared for your own level. Basically, you will get out of this what you put into it. If you go through this DVD workout like a pansie: only lifting low amounts when you could lift more and doing half-hearted moves when you should be taking it to the mat - well, then you'll only get a blah workout and blah results. But if you hit it with the intensity you KNOW you have, and you work HARD and focused, you will get solid results. The upside to all of this is that it's an unlimited challenge. You keep pushing yourself harder and higher, and you will always be challenged by this workout (which is why I think you don't see many used ones for sale, they're definitely a permanent addition to my DVD library.) But, if you decide to be a slacker, then it's likely the best you'll do is whine that it's not enough and "whyyyyyyyy" doesn't it work for you like it does for everyone else?
This is like life, people. You want it? You gotta put in the effort. Plain and simple. It's a shut-up and put-up situation. In the end, you have the map - if you don't make it there, you have no one but yourself to blame.
From a personal trainer standpoint, I really appreciate that there is a real, serious, intense workout available like this. 99% of the video workouts out there are too weak for me, no matter how much effort I put into it. I think what makes this such a challenging set is because it has so many different types of exercise involved, as well as the open ended room to increase your own intensity level. After these workouts, I actually FEEL like I have worked out. In the case of all the other DVD workouts I have tried, I felt as if I hadn't done enough.
The regular version/schedule is six days of workouts (all different, except the added Ab-Ripper on three days), and then a day of rest (or you can do the stretching DVD which isn't included during the week.) Every three weeks, it changes over to a recovery week. While you still do six workouts, they aren't the weight training ones, so it is a little bit of a break. Not much, but enough. Then it changes to a different line up for three weeks, followed by another recovery week, and again for the last four resulting in a full 13 week program.
P90X also has a version called doubles, which is essentially the regular schedule plus doing the 40 minute CardioX workout (which you only see during the recovery week or on the Lean version) several extra times during the week. I have to tell you straight out that this would drive me INSANE. Doing the P90X Lean version, you do the CardioX workout every week, replacing one of the weight training sessions. If I had to see that cardio DVD that often I would probably lose it. The obvious alternative, however, is simply to add your own cardio workout of about 50 minutes to those days as your extra workout. They're just offering the basic option with their doubles plan, without having to figure out a different workout without guidance.
The program also comes with an eating plan. I will tell you straight that the plan is maintenance level as far as calories go for MOST people. If you are thinking about losing a lot of weight, the eating plan is too much. It's the right kinds of food, and I 100% approve of the layout, it's the quantity verses goal.
*If you are wanting to gain mass, it might be enough calories, or a little low for a male. For a female it might be enough. However, I would like to point out that P90X isn't a muscle-mass increasing routine. It WILL build some muscle, make no mistake, but it is more about power. P90X is about creating strength with what you have, and refining it. Power over size, for all intensive purposes.
* If you want to maintain, I suggest you follow their eating plan as it's laid out. However, I would suggest you monitor your levels of body fat, measurements and scale weight to see if you should add calories or subtract them.
* If you are trying to LOSE weight, this is where things get tricky. The calories are a bit high for women (for men, I would start with it and then adjust as necessary) and I would probably start off about 100-300 calories less than the plan equates to on a daily basis. HOWEVER, you need to understand that these workouts are power oriented workouts. They demand a great deal from your body, not only to rise to the occasion with the proper intensity, but also in the matter of recovery afterwards. If you drop your calories too low, you will wipe yourself OUT. Your workouts will suffer, you will get less results, and frankly, you will just feel AWFUL. So, on the angle of a cutting program, this one walks a fine line.
One of the reasons I chose the P90X Lean version of the schedule was so I could actively pursue the weight loss side of it. It IS easier than the regular version, and obviously less demanding than the Doubles. But even so, it is a demanding routine on the body. Because of that, there is no room for error. You must fuel your body at the appropriate times, or you will feel it. You cannot skip meals, because it will tank you.
Now, one last thing to be clear on. If you are after visible results, you need to understand that those are 80% rooted in your kitchen. What you feed yourself, how much, and when are absolutely KEY. There is no workout, or pill, or magic wand that will enable you to get around this fact. If you don't eat right, you will not see what you are working so hard for. You will experience an increase in strength/power, you will probably even feel better, but you won't SEE it, OR feel as good as you COULD if you did right by your body in the kitchen. You want to see your abs? You could do a million crunches, and it won't make a damn bit of difference if you are eating in excess and the wrong things. It's the one hard fact that people want to deny, yet can never truly do so.
You want to be fit? You gotta do the work. You want to LOOK fit? You gotta do the work AND eat right. It's that simple, it really IS that black and white. No if's, and's or but's.
So, to the point: I like the workout. I like the food plan. And I even like the instructor and his presentation of the whole plan. Oh, one technical note, though - the whole thing is kind of dark. Not that it isn't shot well, it is. It's just that the room it was shot in is dark toned, and there are often shadows in the background which leads to an even darker appearance. This was probably on purpose since it allowed you to 100% focus on the instructor who stood out well against this background. However, it did make it tough to see sometimes because of the glare of lights in my own room against the television, regardless of where the lighting came from (above, or from a lamp or window, etc.) Don't misunderstand me, it's not a poor quality recording at ALL. And hey, maybe it's just me.
If you are now interested in P90X, Ultimate Fitness Gear has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5off
Edit 2/2008: I have recently been able to try out two of the nutritional supplements many had asked me about, this link is my review of them.
Edit: I wrote this review in July 2006, and recently it has been getting a lot of traffic. I still stand by everything I said. I am not affiliated with Beachbody. Up until now I had been taking questions, but it is becoming more than I can keep up with, so I won't be answering any more. Please see if your question has already been answered in the comments. Thank you!
I initially started off with the standard P90X, and then switched to P90X Lean (in order to not beat up my husband, due to some scheduling issues.) Because I have done a big portion of both versions, I feel I can offer a pretty well rounded report on it.
The first thing I want to establish is a reminder of where I have come from over the past...Oh.... Eight years. I went from sedentary (220+ lbs), to cardio bunny (mostly tae-bo), to weight training, and then on to the serious fitness freak that you see before you today. I did NOT start this program after getting up off my couch one day and deciding it was the one for me.
This program is NOT a good starting point for ANYONE. I am speaking most directly to those men, and you know who you are, who regardless of your actual fitness level, assume that you can handle anything at any level, simply because of your testosterone and Y chromosome. I'm married to one of these "I can do anything" types, and trust me: he tried P90X, suffered, and dropped it - and he isn't a completely unfit guy either.
If you are interested in P90X, male or female - drop the ego and take their fitness test. For REAL. It will replace your normal workout, because it takes about 40 minutes. It's not a marketing gimmick, it's a necessary thing you should do. Because, if you can't hit everything you need to on the fitness test, you not only aren't ready for P90X, but you might cause yourself injury if you try it.
Now that I have scared everyone off, lets back up for a minute. It's not THAT bad, but you do need a certain higher level of core fitness in order to start in on this program. If you don't have that, there are a lot of places to start. If you have a long way to go, I recommend a doctor's clearance and then daily walks and body weight moves (like push-ups, sit-ups, etc), ramping up to a harder regimen. I also highly recommend Body For Life (NOT NOT NOT BFL for Women, that book is a total waste of good paper, and Eating for life is a good MAINTENANCE cookbook, but not so hot for an actual plan - and by the way, all the success photos/stories in the cookbook are from the ORIGINAL BFL plan, not EFL), but as the ORIGINAL plan was intended. Ignore the "official" website, and all the stupid tweaks people have tried to twist it with. Half.com has a ton of cheap copies ($1.37 when last I checked), so it won't even cost you much to look into it. Once you have completed that, you may or may not be ready for something like P90X, but you can try the fitness test again and find out where your weaknesses are.
The system is a set of DVD workouts which involve a ton of body-weight moves (like push-ups, pull-ups, plyometric moves, etc) as well as cardio and weight training cycles. The equipment you will require is a large enough space to go bouncing about in all directions without causing serious injury or property damage, free-weights of varying sizes, a chin-up bar/station, a yoga mat and blocks, and some people also use bands, as well as push-up bars (optional.)
**A note about the bands - I bought a set from Walmart. I snapped those suckers in half. They stink, don't buy them from Walmart or any of the other major retailers. You need a set of HIGH quality bands if you are going to be using them. I do not know if the set they sell through the Beachbody website are high quality or not, but you can try them or a serious fitness retailer. You need at least a medium weighted resistance band and the heaviest one they have (to mimic pull-ups if you can't do them.)
Personally, I have an interchangeable set of dumbbells with plates. This worked out OK, but there were times I had to hit the pause button because I couldn't get it set up quickly enough. If you have the cash (which I do not), I highly recommend PowerBlocks. I also have a Power-Tower station for the pull-ups. You can buy a standard chin-up bar from a major retailer for about $6, or you can invest in their fancy junglebar version for about $40. My power tower ($70) was a personal "I gotta HAVE IT!" freak-out, so it's not necessary. I just wanted a station that was good for not only pull-ups, but dips, leg raises and other exercises. Yes, I know, fitness freak. But for P90X , you only need the pull-up station, with the ability to do both wide and close handed grips.
The actual workouts range from a plyometric workout, core and cardio, to several weight/target area workouts (like legs & back, or shoulders & arms, etc). There is also a 90 minute Yoga session which you do every week, as well as a cardio workout of Kenpo. My favorite of all the workouts is the Kenpo, because I'm a sucker for anything that involves fighting moves - serious or not. I also value the yoga that has been incorporated because it has helped with some flexibility issues I was struggling with. Since the yoga also comes dead center of the week, it also relieves some tightness that you end up acquiring through the earlier workouts.
The weight workouts are good because there isn't a ton of monotony. You have a lot of different exercises you move through, and you never get bored because of that. The pull-ups aren't as bad as they sound. Yes, they're HARD. Yes, you end up doing a LOT of them. But there are ways to "spot" yourself, and assist with the pull-up until you can switch over to doing them without assistance. The DVD does show you how to do this, even expects you to. If you are interested in just learning about how to get your body doing pull-ups, Stumtuous.com has a whole "how-to" for you to get in gear.
I would say the workout I hate the most is the plyometrics, closely followed by the core synergistics. Why? Because plyo is HARD, people! Doesn't mean it's not worth doing. If anything, it's because it's hard that it's worth doing. Though, I admit that near the end of one of the workouts, I looked up to see the instructor doing a push-up where he brought his whole body into the air off the ground (feet and hands) and clapped in mid air, before coming down and doing it again - I almost took off my shoe and threw it at the screen.
The instructor, Tony Horton, is a good looking 40-something guy with a great attitude. Admittedly, at first I found him slightly grating. But I think that was because I have a lot of preconceived notions about DVD workouts, and their instructors. OK, they're not preconceived notions, we're talking outright hostility. If I had to endure another energizer-wind-up-pink-lollipop- cotton-candy-fluffy-should -be-tossed-out-of-a-plane instructor, I was going to lose it. Thank goodness this wasn't the case. Once I was able to understand the rhythm of his sense of humor, I was fine. Honestly, I think he's probably one of the best motivational exercise instructors I have ever seen.
However, for those who don't agree, the DVD's come with the options to play the workout with either the music or the instructor, or both muted and just have it give you your cues on the exercises. So far, I haven't done either, which was a total shock considering my propensity for a lack of patience in this area.
On certain days, you are expected to tack on the 16 minute "Ab Ripper" routine. This thing sucks. Sorry to use the language, but...Well... OW. Necessary, but OW. I also found that I have next to NO patience for tacking it on right after a regular workout. After 60 minutes of lifting weights and doing pull-ups, the last thing I want to do is look at some fresh-faced bunch of people and kill myself with an ab routine. So, what I have done instead is to tack it on later in the day. I'm MUCH happier with this arrangement, and it allows me to draft my husband into doing it with me. It's so much more enjoyable to hear someone else cussing and whining through a workout, than yourself.
These workouts are hard-core, but they're also geared for your own level. Basically, you will get out of this what you put into it. If you go through this DVD workout like a pansie: only lifting low amounts when you could lift more and doing half-hearted moves when you should be taking it to the mat - well, then you'll only get a blah workout and blah results. But if you hit it with the intensity you KNOW you have, and you work HARD and focused, you will get solid results. The upside to all of this is that it's an unlimited challenge. You keep pushing yourself harder and higher, and you will always be challenged by this workout (which is why I think you don't see many used ones for sale, they're definitely a permanent addition to my DVD library.) But, if you decide to be a slacker, then it's likely the best you'll do is whine that it's not enough and "whyyyyyyyy" doesn't it work for you like it does for everyone else?
This is like life, people. You want it? You gotta put in the effort. Plain and simple. It's a shut-up and put-up situation. In the end, you have the map - if you don't make it there, you have no one but yourself to blame.
From a personal trainer standpoint, I really appreciate that there is a real, serious, intense workout available like this. 99% of the video workouts out there are too weak for me, no matter how much effort I put into it. I think what makes this such a challenging set is because it has so many different types of exercise involved, as well as the open ended room to increase your own intensity level. After these workouts, I actually FEEL like I have worked out. In the case of all the other DVD workouts I have tried, I felt as if I hadn't done enough.
The regular version/schedule is six days of workouts (all different, except the added Ab-Ripper on three days), and then a day of rest (or you can do the stretching DVD which isn't included during the week.) Every three weeks, it changes over to a recovery week. While you still do six workouts, they aren't the weight training ones, so it is a little bit of a break. Not much, but enough. Then it changes to a different line up for three weeks, followed by another recovery week, and again for the last four resulting in a full 13 week program.
P90X also has a version called doubles, which is essentially the regular schedule plus doing the 40 minute CardioX workout (which you only see during the recovery week or on the Lean version) several extra times during the week. I have to tell you straight out that this would drive me INSANE. Doing the P90X Lean version, you do the CardioX workout every week, replacing one of the weight training sessions. If I had to see that cardio DVD that often I would probably lose it. The obvious alternative, however, is simply to add your own cardio workout of about 50 minutes to those days as your extra workout. They're just offering the basic option with their doubles plan, without having to figure out a different workout without guidance.
The program also comes with an eating plan. I will tell you straight that the plan is maintenance level as far as calories go for MOST people. If you are thinking about losing a lot of weight, the eating plan is too much. It's the right kinds of food, and I 100% approve of the layout, it's the quantity verses goal.
*If you are wanting to gain mass, it might be enough calories, or a little low for a male. For a female it might be enough. However, I would like to point out that P90X isn't a muscle-mass increasing routine. It WILL build some muscle, make no mistake, but it is more about power. P90X is about creating strength with what you have, and refining it. Power over size, for all intensive purposes.
* If you want to maintain, I suggest you follow their eating plan as it's laid out. However, I would suggest you monitor your levels of body fat, measurements and scale weight to see if you should add calories or subtract them.
* If you are trying to LOSE weight, this is where things get tricky. The calories are a bit high for women (for men, I would start with it and then adjust as necessary) and I would probably start off about 100-300 calories less than the plan equates to on a daily basis. HOWEVER, you need to understand that these workouts are power oriented workouts. They demand a great deal from your body, not only to rise to the occasion with the proper intensity, but also in the matter of recovery afterwards. If you drop your calories too low, you will wipe yourself OUT. Your workouts will suffer, you will get less results, and frankly, you will just feel AWFUL. So, on the angle of a cutting program, this one walks a fine line.
One of the reasons I chose the P90X Lean version of the schedule was so I could actively pursue the weight loss side of it. It IS easier than the regular version, and obviously less demanding than the Doubles. But even so, it is a demanding routine on the body. Because of that, there is no room for error. You must fuel your body at the appropriate times, or you will feel it. You cannot skip meals, because it will tank you.
Now, one last thing to be clear on. If you are after visible results, you need to understand that those are 80% rooted in your kitchen. What you feed yourself, how much, and when are absolutely KEY. There is no workout, or pill, or magic wand that will enable you to get around this fact. If you don't eat right, you will not see what you are working so hard for. You will experience an increase in strength/power, you will probably even feel better, but you won't SEE it, OR feel as good as you COULD if you did right by your body in the kitchen. You want to see your abs? You could do a million crunches, and it won't make a damn bit of difference if you are eating in excess and the wrong things. It's the one hard fact that people want to deny, yet can never truly do so.
You want to be fit? You gotta do the work. You want to LOOK fit? You gotta do the work AND eat right. It's that simple, it really IS that black and white. No if's, and's or but's.
So, to the point: I like the workout. I like the food plan. And I even like the instructor and his presentation of the whole plan. Oh, one technical note, though - the whole thing is kind of dark. Not that it isn't shot well, it is. It's just that the room it was shot in is dark toned, and there are often shadows in the background which leads to an even darker appearance. This was probably on purpose since it allowed you to 100% focus on the instructor who stood out well against this background. However, it did make it tough to see sometimes because of the glare of lights in my own room against the television, regardless of where the lighting came from (above, or from a lamp or window, etc.) Don't misunderstand me, it's not a poor quality recording at ALL. And hey, maybe it's just me.
If you are now interested in P90X, Ultimate Fitness Gear has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5offEdit 2/2008: I have recently been able to try out two of the nutritional supplements many had asked me about, this link is my review of them.
Edit: I wrote this review in July 2006, and recently it has been getting a lot of traffic. I still stand by everything I said. I am not affiliated with Beachbody. Up until now I had been taking questions, but it is becoming more than I can keep up with, so I won't be answering any more. Please see if your question has already been answered in the comments. Thank you!
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