Below is a embedded Google Document of my results so far, up until yesterday, January 24, 2010.

*** You can open the Google Spreadsheet by right clicking and opening up a new tab to see on a full screen.  To navigate, you can click on the tabs “Chest & Back”, “Plyometrics” etc to see the results for each workout.

As promised, here is my progress so far. I will be posting my results
on a daily basis after each workout.

A more detailed post on my nutrition plan, mindset and strategies
taken will be up in about a week’s time. I’ve decided
to ease up on the noise I’m creating on the Twitter and Facebook
channels. However, I’ll continue posting videos after each workout on
YouTube. I’ll post a video for Phase 1 once I get my new MacBook Pro
so I can integrate cool shit into my videos like pictures and music
etc.

For brevity’s sake, I already wrote notes under each areas of focus.
Keep in mind that Phase 1 comprised of only: Chest & Back,
Plyometrics, Shoulders & Arms, Yoga, Legs & Back and Kenpo. The other
pages are for Phase 2 & 3. As of writing this post, I’m hovering
around 149 – 150 pounds – down from 158 pounds.

I’m enjoying the process so far, and I’m definitely glad that I’m
heading into my recovery week. I damn well earned it! Phase 2.. here
I come BRING IT!

You can check out my YouTube Channel for the videos I’ve posted to this very day.

Memo.m4a (4000 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Will Lam’s Posterous

Just some thoughts after taking a little over a month off of P90X. Besides screaming like a little girl, my thoughts on it is that getting back into the swing of things to match the fitness level you’re at before is tough.. but all it takes is focus, discipline and well.. you’ve done it before already so it ain’t all that bad!

If you’ve followed through on at least Phase 1, and fallen off of the program remember that you at least built up the habit to take on the workouts consistently, so getting back into it should be challenging – not impossible. Just focus on one workout at a time rather than beating yourself up over not being able to follow through on all 3 phases of the program. It’s a huge commitment, but it’s worth it to stick it through till the end.

Since this is my third stab at the program without being able to do the entire 90 days, my key areas of focus are to stick to a diet using ingredients that are closely aligned with “Michi’s Nutrition Ladder” Guide that comes with P90X. In addition to that, I’ll watch my portions and eat until I’m not hungry, and not full as well as not eating 3 hours before I head to bed.

I noticed that having a nice flavoured rooibos tea while reading before I go to bed helps distract me from my hunger.

I also picked up my own copy of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, where I’ve tried out some of the recipes found in the cookbook with some deliciously healthy results.

Besides that, I’ve been carefully scrutinizing everything I eat and I even cut back on my favourite food right now… tasty tasty burritos..

I’ll try and put some real work and mash together video of my progress so far (with effects and music) with Adobe Premiere Elements when I install it.

What are you doing to stay active nowadays?  Let me know!  Any recommendations on what I can take on after I finish P90X?

I recently did a bi-annual review of the “General State of Things” in my life and concluded (like the majority of people) that I wasn’t entirely happy with the way things are.

Perhaps it’s the high standards that I have set for myself and consciously decide to adhere to. In anything I’m highly interested where I choose to devote my time and energy, I dive into it and go as deep as possible. By my diving into a particular interest I may have (say public speaking), I aim for not only competency but mastery.

However, after doing my bi-annual review, I noticed a pattern that I caught on that went unnoticed for a while being my tendency to dabble to the point where I:

1) Completely burn out and never go back

2) Drop the interest for one reason (or excuse) or another

Some of the interests that I’ve picked up and amassed over over the years lay in the areas of: improvisational comedy, public speaking, salsa dancing, tea, running, P90X, blogging, philanthropy and meditation.

After picking up on this pattern, to say that I was extremely upset with myself would be an understatement. The reason for my being upset is that the standards were of my own choosing; where I consciously thought them through knowing that they’re challenging enough for me to grow and learn. I realized if I violate my own standards, it really is a blow to my own self-concept. Despite that I constantly stretch myself to reach that ideal equilibrium of practicing what I preach and following through with the promises I make to myself in taking on interests that I’m truly passionate.

After careful reflection, I’ve decided to pick up on the interests that I’ve left on the wayside over the last two years or so being: Public Speaking, Blogging, P90X (or any form of physical exercise) – these being more so lifelong interests that I want to continually hone and improve upon.

What I really aim for these while on the path of mastery are practicing the fundamentals consistently and aligning it with my purpose and long-term vision of who I want to become.

What are your thoughts on being an unconscious dabbler versus striving for mastery? Do you find yourself continually trying out new things and dropping them or do you align your interests with a long term vision for yourself?

Okay, so it’s been QUITE some time since I wrote my last Fitness Update, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been hitting the gym as often as I could.

I finished Phase 2 fresh off the heels of Phase 1, and to be honest, I didn’t really follow through with the “recovery” week. I did maybe Core Synergistics and Plyometrics just to stay consistent with the cardio portion of the program. I also indulged in an order of filthy/greasy wings and two pints of Keith’s to wash them down … I earned it!

Adding on to my previous Fitness Update, I bought some new equipment to increase the intensity and effectiveness of my workouts, tried a new cookbook and some supplements as well.

Equipment:

Nike Push up bars - I bought these at Sportchek in Eaton Centre for about $25 Canadian, which wasn’t too bad. They give you about 6 more inches of depth and can really add more definition to your arms, chest and back when you’re pumping out those military pushups

 
Nutrition:

One major addition to my diet was the “Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook” by Tosca Reno. This awesome cookbook is chalk full of healthy and guilty free recipes that break down the nutritional info for you, which might be helpful to some who are calorie-counters.

Nutrition Supplements:

MuscleTech NitroTech Hardcore - I was thinking of switching it up but decided to get the larger tub out of convenience. If any of you have recommendations that would be comparable to NitroTech, I’d appreciate it.

MuscleTech Cell-Tech Hardcore - Buying MuscleTech’s Cell-Tech was probably the worst of my decisions in terms of what supplements to experiment with.   The loading phase was the worst!  In fact, I couldn’t even get past it because of the chronic diarrhea and constant trips to the washroom.  Definitely not cool.

Vitamins – I picked these up to round out my diet and helping muscle recovery.

Apart from vitamins, I’m thinking about picking up some Glucosamine to help speed up muscle recovery, but I don’t know if it’s really that beneficial. (Anyone try or know??)

Thoughts on Phase 2:

If Phase 1 was for trimming the fat and becoming leaner, Phase 2 is where I noticed more definition and bulk. The workout components of Phase 2 were:

• Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
• Ab Ripper X
• Plyometrics
• Back & Biceps
• Yoga X
• Legs & Back
• Kenpo X

Each of these workouts weren’t entirely different from that of Phase 1, but different enough in order to take advantage of “Muscle Confusion” in order to keep you from reaching a plateau and staying there in order to spur muscle growth.

To be honest, I went a bit easy on myself here as I was starting up school so I needed to find a balance between the crazy 6 day workout schedule, working and studying, so I decided to cut out Yoga X and Kenpo X. If I was really pressed for time, I’d cut out Legs & Back as well, which could be an explanation why my legs and back weren’t a defined and my growth wasn’t as drastic compared to completing Phase 1.

I did the same for Phase 3 pretty much, but had to stop half way through this Phase to buckle down for exams.

After reflecting on my experiences with on my modified “P90X Lite” program, simply put, if you cut out some workouts if you’re pressed for time, you’ll STILL get results, but they won’t be as dramatic as you might have originally hoped.  Apart from leading a healthy lifestyle, I would have to say my confidence has definitely increased and my posture has definitely improved.  Also, I’ve noticed that my body language reflects these changes as well, whether conscious or unconscious. 

Now that I have the time, I’ve decided to give the entire P90X program another spin and start from the beginning, this time without skipping out on any workouts like Yoga X, Legs & Back and Kenpo X.  I”m excited to see what results I can yield and will take a pic after each of my workouts to keep track of my progress.  My progress pics are up to date as of this blog post.

P90X Phase 1

So it’s been a little over a month and now I’m on my recovery week after finishing Phase 1 of the P90X program. If I were to sum up my past month in one sentence, it would be “You get what you put in”.

A common misconception is that “anyone” can do this program (especially with their slick infomercial) and come out with stellar results and a six-pack abs.

For those who are thinking of following through with their fitness goals and whipping themselves into shape without any prior physical activity or some sort of training the task might be more daunting than originally envisioned. It took me about 4 times before I built enough momentum after training for my half marathons – it really is mind over matter with this program.

Don’t get me wrong, P90X is a fantastic workout program, but only for those who are already in “okay” in shape where you can run 5 kilometres without passing out and doing at least 1 assisted pull-up, possess a “killer” never-give-up psychology, and backed enough with compelling reasons of why you want to follow through on this 90 day commitment to your fitness and health.

In order of importance here were the things that were the most important in the P90X program.

Nutrition: depending on your point of view – this would be the easiest or the hardest of the P90X program.

I realize when it comes to nutrition, you’re fully in control of what you eat and what you don’t eat.  In my case, I cut out 98% of my junk food intake, with the hardest obstacle being my craving for potato chips, which I eventually got under control after kicking that habit after training for my half marathons.

The P90X program suggests that break down the times you eat to 5 times a day – Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and then dinner, with the point being to keep your blood sugar levels at a consistent level so you’re not as tired and better manage your energy ups and downs throughout the day.

With respect to hydration, 90% of the time I drank filtered tap water, along with soy milk and the occasional glass of wine or beer with a meal.

As for the Recovery drink, I was a bit sketchy about these at first, but I eventually caved and bought a recovery drink myself through a recommendation of a close friend of mine. I ended up picking up a tub of MuscleTech “NitroTech” product in vanilla flavour from my local GNC, which is actually pretty tasty.

I’ve noticed a small amount of definition, even after using it for only two and a half weeks.

I can admit that I’m a bit neurotic when it comes to the food that I eat, but this is for the purposes of fulfilling this 90 day goal – I’ll reflect on whether or not I want to continue my obsessive vigilance of sticking to a healthy meal plan to the point I won’t even look at a donut… which is tough up here with Tim Hortons’s on every bloody corner of the city. Lol.

The Equipment: the most important things you should get are free weights and a pull-up bar. Luckily the facilities at the condo I live in has free weights in its gym so I didn’t have to spend any money, which leaves the pull up bar. I picked up a DoorGym pullup bar made by Forza Equipment from Fitness Source here in Toronto, which set me back about $50.

It’s a great piece of equipment that requires minimal assembly and hooks to your door very easily and in under 3 seconds.

The Workout Schedule: you’re hitting the gym 6 times a week with the last day being a rest day or for their “StretchX” program. The first week is always the toughest, and generally where most people give up. Like I said before, this is my forth try in trying out this program, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re thoroughly worn out after doing any one of his P90X routines. I reminded myself that it was okay, and I could always give it another try.

How I fit this program into my schedule was immediately after work I’d hit the gym with my pull-up bar in hand. I made it one of the priorities in terms of areas of my life and pen it into my trusty PocketMod.

Final Thoughts:

While it was definitely challenging and uphill climb at first, after you push past that first week, the second week a little bit easier, and the third being even easier and so and so forth.   Like I said, you get what you put in.

Like Tony Horton says in his videos (which can be a little annoying but hits the nail on the head),“You’ve got to BRING IT” to get the most out of the program and keep on pushing even further than you did before to get the maximum results.

So far I’m happy with the results, but I’m not complacent.   Onto Phase 2!

For those of you who are curious, here’s a photostream of my progress on Flickr