P90X2 - The Next Step

The long awaited release of P90X2 has come and gone. Sitting next to me right now is my copy... so cool! The big shift for P90X2 is an increased focus on core connected lifting and its ability to assist sports performance. I can't even wait. As of now, I have only sampled a few of the workouts. The three phases build upon one another and I know that I am not ready for the later phases. My Foundation Phase (first 3-6 weeks) will need help! I am going to keeping the blog to chronicle my progress through X2... I am dropping TV for the next 3 months to make sure that I have the time to make this happen. My hope is to post videos as well... still working on that!

I will be completing this program with a HUGE group of friends from teamRIPPED. There is the core of Asylum Crazies and the newly branded Misfits. There has already been tons of conversations on the group's page and I can tell this group will be perfect! They are focused, driven, and dedicated... I love all three!

My life has been great over the past few months. Lots of changes for my growing son, and lots of changes in the life of his parents! My wife and I are so blessed to have such a great little guy. The Lord has been so faithful in providing exactly what we need in all situations. I would love to say that the Lord has been revealing himself more, but I fear that he has been doing this all along and I am actually now just picking up on his ques more and more.

In September, I was able to take a trip to surprise my coach Wayne Wyatt in Oklahoma. It was awesome! I got to spend a weekend with a bunch of absolutely wonderful people. We worked out, race a Warrior Dash, and got to say "thanks" to the guy that helped change all of our lives. It was simply fantastic! I will leave you with a couple pictures from the race. Stay tuned and keep BRINGING IT!

Tools at Hand Hybrid

Monday 6/27/11 will mark the start of my new hybrid... the Tools at Hand hybrid. It is a combo of P90X, Asylum, and some One-on-Ones. It puts the focus back on lifting, and I am really looking to use this round for two things. First, I want to get a little bigger while dropping a little more fat. Building muscle and dropping fat is a slow process. Normally, you should only pick one and do it. Drop the fat, get ripped, and then build. Or bulk up and then cut down to get shredded. I am happy with my current leanness and just want to building muscle and strength while tightening up what I can. This round's second purpose is to get ready for P90X2. That should launch this fall (2011) and be killer! My hope is to do a full on, daily blog of that journey.

For Tools at Hand, I will be sticking right at my maintenance calorie mark (2400/day) and using the ratios of 40/40/20 for my macros. Right now I am hovering at 156 lbs in the morning. I may decide to do a tiny surplus after I see what my daily burn is actually accomplishing and if my weight is maintaining or still decreasing. I will post some days with menus of what I have been eating to give you a rough idea of what has been making up my diet. I am still eating 6 times or so a day and limiting carbs in the evening... other than that, good clean food. Watching for and avoiding added sugar, HFCS, enriched white flour, saturated fats, etc.

So on to the plan:
TOOLS AT HAND HYBRID

Keep working hard and you will accomplish your goals. Let me know if I can help with anything!

Blessings,

David J

davidcjeffries@gmail.com

Switching Gears AGAIN!!!

Can this guy stick to just one thing? I think I can, I mean... I did fully rock P90X and Asylum... It is just this mass lifting. I am going to have to give it up (for a while). Here's why!

About 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by a manager at Beachbody. She had received my results from Asylum's Earned T-shirt offer and had a question for me. Would I be willing to share my results and a little interview with BB and see if they can use my story? OF COURSE I'D BE WILLING!!!!

I have no clue if this will turn into anything, but I had to jump at the opportunity. So back into the Asylum I went. They want about 30 minutes of exercise video and a set of interview questions. I needed to get dialed in and quickly. I have dropped back to 1900 calories (I miss you 3000... ) and have been hanging out with Shaun T. again. My plan is to do at least 15 days again of straight Asylum and then head into my "Tools at Hand" Hybrid.

My "Tools at Hand" Hybrid will be fully detailed in a bit, but it uses what Beachbody DVDs I have and mixes in some fun. For a sweet 1st Father's Day gift, my son (with Erin's help I am guessing) got me 3 One on Ones with Tony Horton (30-15, Diamond Delts, and Just Arms). I will have an awesome hybrid now!!!

Keep posted to Xshred, it is summer and I will be blogging much more. I will also be including more multimedia stuff as well. Reading is great, but live action is cool too.

I leave you with a recently uncovered picture of the David of old... enjoy... or don't...

Blessings,
David J.
davidcjeffries@gmail.com

I'm out of the Asylum!!!

The review board has decided to release me from the Asylum... I hope I am rehabilitated!

The last 30 days have been crazy to say the least. The Asylum from Shaun T. is like nothing I have ever done. The cardiovascular aspect of the workouts is truly extreme. You should not even begin to think about this program if you are not already in great shape. I was fresh out of a round of P90X and I still was humbled. P90X gave me a great base, but the Asylum needed more. I burned more calories in 40 minutes of the Asylum than I ever did in a full hour PlyoX day. Even the lifting day requires great cardio. Shaun takes you through what he calls a "cardio dumbbell rotation." These begin with a curl into a squat, dropped/kicked out to a plank, push up, and back up to start again. Each time you add moves to the plank portion... spiders, and then mountain climbers. Running 30 lb. dumbbells did the job nicely.

I ate cleanly again for the Asylum. I started with going back to 50p:30c:20f at 1800 calories. I then bumped to 2000 as I was feeling really tired. I evenly ending up at 40p:40c:20f at 2200 calories. Still below my maintenance, but I didn't feel I could push without the extra carbs and calories.

What did it do? Well I dropped 3 lbs... and roughly 2% BF. Oh and this is about sports performance: I dropped 36 seconds off my mile: 5:59 to 5:23!

Here are my fit test results:
Agility Heisman: (10) - 12
In-Out Ab Progression: (52) - 57
Pull-Up/Push-Up (specify): (40 push) - 48
Mountain Climber Switch Kicks: (75) - 99
Agility Shoulder Taps: (5) - 7
X Jumps: (37) - 43
Moving Push-ups: (5) - 6.5
Agility Lateral Shuffle: (17) - 19
Agility Bear Crawl: (13) - 16

Injuries

"Oh man... that doesn't feel normal. I mean, I know what sore feels like, but this is different!"

That was me, 6 days ago. After some really intense Asylum work, my left quad began to feel a little different than  normal. I have become quiet used to feeling tight and sore over the past month. The Asylum has worked my body in many new ways. I knew something was off and I knew something was different this time. As the day continued, and evening came, I was concerned. It was rather difficult to lift my leg higher than my waist. Walking was ok, but anything over a little lift and swing was painful. What do I do now? I am suppose to be doing some Vertical Plyo.... agh, and I need gear up to obliterate my pre-Asylum mile time (5:59 - shooting for under 5:30 - tough stuff).

At times like this you need to focus on you ultimate goals, and don't let your ego get in the way. I would have loved to stay exactly on the Asylum schedule but that was not an option. I switched some days to allow my legs to have some rest. I ran Back to Core and Strength to take the pressure off my quad. "It's about getting results, not getting hurt." Thank you Tony.... you were so right. After an extra couple days, my leg was feeling noticeably better.

That was a case where working out was still an option. I just needed to change what I was focusing on, and I changed the focus to other muscles. What if you really hurt yourself and can't do anything? For these extreme cases, you MUST focus heavily on your nutrition. Dial back your calories to compensate for a reduction in your exercise burn, and stay clean. Don't let getting down be a reason to fall off the nutritional wagon. Turn all that energy you had been directing towards tearing up your workouts and focus on eating well.

You may be a little set back from missing your workouts, but you won't be starting over like you would from disregarding your diet. You will also build up some good mental strength to stick with your new eating habits. This is about reinforcing the lifestyle change you have committed to.

Hope these words help! Look out for Asylum updates SOON! Day 30 is tomorrow (5/30/11)!!!

Blessings,
David
davidcjeffries@gmail.com

Being in the club...

Role models, coaches, and mentors are all good things. They give us an example to follow, and often have reached in their own lives a point or place that we hope to reach someday. In life, I was given some great advise about mentors from my father. He has told me multiple times to find men that I look up to that are 5 to 10 years ahead of me in life. All the while asking them and myself, "How did you get to where you are? What were the difficulties you faced in marriage, parenting, life...? How have you grown in your faith?" The same thing is good to apply to your fitness journey.

My original interest in teamRIPPED was one of plain curiosity. How did Wayne get so ripped? What did he do differently than my lackluster first round? After reading a bunch of his posts, and emailing a few times, I knew Wayne was a guy that I wanted to guide and shape my new experience with P90X.

Wayne did exactly that and more! He totally remade my idea of working out and nutrition. His posts encouraged and challenged me. Better yet, he motivated and encouraged my faith. He truly is the total package. What I didn't expect to experience was a little bit of intimidation. TeamRIPPED has some true all- stars. These are men and women that have made some amazing transformations and know what they are doing. You need to really stay inside of yourself and realize that Joe Blow's work is not mine. Frank may be further ahead in the journey. Don't get discouraged! Trust the system and it will produce results. I know this is paraphrased from someone else, but it may have taken you 5-10 years to get your body into the mess that it is in... you need to be realistic about the time it will take you to get out of it. What I can guarantee you is that after the 90 days of P90X or 63 days of Insanity, you will be in better shape than when you started. You will SEE changes. You will feel better. The only way these programs do not work is if you don't do the work (during the workouts and with regards to nutrition).

After a while, I really began to feel part of the club. I can stick with these guys and gals. I can be a little crazy like coach (backpacks for pull-ups... are you loco?) It feels really good to belong. The next transition was to contribute to the club. I had some valuable knowledge and experience... and I could back it up now! I am not just a bystander, I am a member of teamRIPPED. Part of the club.

Hook up with someone whom you respect. Ask them what they did to make the change you desire for yourself. These people can help you avoid many pitfalls and obstacles. They can also be the boost to get you over your next hurdle. If I can do that for you, let me know. I would love to help! My door, and email, is always open.

Keep pushing play and BRING IT!

Blessings,
David
davidcjeffries@gmail.com

The Asylum - Overall Impressions

If you have followed Xshred at all, you know that I am taking on Shaun T.'s newest creation, The Asylum. Designed to be a graduate program of sorts for Insanity, The Asylum is all about sports performance. Repeated all over the place in the program is the goal of getting faster, jumping higher, and hitting harder. The workouts are a little shorter than P90X (about 40-50 minute average, Game Day at a full hour), but they are SUPER intense! There is no quit in The Asylum.


I have really enjoyed the program so far. It is definitely a departure from P90X. The cardio aspect of the program is far more intense. Whereas the lifting does not address each body part like P90X. Basically each set of moves are completed directly following the previous set. There aren't the nice 30 second breaks. There are times of "active recovery." Where you are still working but your HR can recover a bit, but little rest. The cardiovascular aspect is even evident in lifting. This week, in the final part of Strength, I was completing a 6" leg lift, chest press with 45s, for a minute straight (max reps), all with my HR over 155. That was crazy... probably why I am in the Asylum!


Shaun T. stresses form and "staying within yourself" all the time. You have to get the form down to increase your speed and endurance. This isn't just jumping around, this is control aimed at getting the most out of each movement.


I have realized that once I got my mindset shifting off of the P90X lift BIG picture, I was able to really enjoy myself. I've said this before, but let's face it, I'm no Arnold. I am working at this program to see what type of athlete I can become. If I really desire to get big, I will use something else. The program is for sports performance. I am getting stronger, but I know that bulk is not what I am aiming for, or really desire right now. I want to CRAZY athletic!!! I think I can get there...


The first thing I have been amazed with, even in only 17 days, is that my desire is to compete. I want to do more, run, hike, climb, bike, etc. I want to use my abilities. I want to play sports and beat people. I want to see how fast I can do a mile or 5K. I have taken my son in his stroller running 3 times in the last week. No need to do extra work (I do get to eat more then!), but I just desire it. I can't tell you the last time I have logged more than 10 miles in a week. I am even doing my first mini-triathlon tomorrow (5/20 - I will try to post that experience too!). The Asylum has changed me into a competitor and I love it!


I am leaning up as well. I dropped back to 1800 calories at roughly 50p:30c:20f for the first two weeks. Now I am at 2000 calories and still roughly 50p:30c:20f. I refeed with higher carbs twice a week. That is where I bump carbs by 100-125 grams and drop fat and protein to compensate. I still aim for around a 2000 calorie total. Those are different days. I am so used to what I eat and don't eat, that eating extra of anything feels odd.


Keep pushing play and keep it up! My wife is doing ChaLEAN eXtreme and I am going to have her post soon.


God Bless,
David

YouTube Video! The Transformation is UP!

Come check it out! My P90X transformation video is up on Youtube.... Hope you enjoy!

DAY 90 - DONE AND DONE!

The day has come and gone! Day 90! I still can't believe that it is over (P90X that is, and for now that is... more on that later!). The past 90 days have been quiet a trip. Like many experiences, I think we tend to remember the bright spots more than the negatives. I wonder if the Lord programmed us that way. If I think hard enough, I can remember being really out of it during some work outs. I remember cheating on some reps (maybe too many on Crouching Cohen Curls - still hate them). I even vaguely remember stopping short of my best, once maybe twice. Those thoughts stink. Luckily, it is really hard to bring those out! What easily comes to mind is dropping 12 more pounds and then gaining 4 back in lean muscle. The excitement of seeing my abs for the first time ever... "Erin can you see them?" It is a joy to remember adding weight to a back pack to make the pull ups harder. I couldn't even do a pull up a year ago. I also remember peaking my HR at 183 during some awesome Jump-Knee Tucks and Mary Katerine's and feeling like a million bucks. Those good memories, and many others like them, are what I remember about my round of P90X.

I also remember my coach, Wayne Wyatt. I remember getting really jacked watching his transformation video. My wife can account for this, but I also remember being straight up giddy when he would email me back about my diet and plans. His answers were always thorough, honest, and just for me. He was a huge support! He helped me dial in my nutrition and keep me motivated with inspirational and informational posts at his site. He also directed me towards keeping my eye on the ultimate prize, glorifying Christ. He is the total package of a coach. I really can't say enough about him. He is the best. If you are thinking of doing P90X, get him as your coach. It is completely free. He never pushes anything on you, he is really just there to help. Come on! Go to teamripped.com for contact info and to get started! He will hook you up!

On to the results...
Start day - February 7th, 2011
Wt: 168.5 lbs
BF: 16.5%

End day - May 7, 2011
Wt: 159.5 lbs
BF: 8%

Pics-

 

So what's next...

Where do I go from here? I have got that question a few times, mostly around how I eat. I am going to change anything now that I am done? No way! This has been a total life transformation. I plan to eat this way forever. I may play around with my macro-nutrient percentages and calorie totals, but I am in it to win it! I have loved moving away from processed foods and simple carbs. I love my all of my lean meat.... no need for frying or batter. I love being healthy! I love knowing exactly what I am taking in each day. I want to see what I can do, and I am going to keep at it. One way I am doing that is by taking on the Asylum Challenge. I want to see what type of an athlete Shaun T. and his Insanity: Asylum can get me to be. I love the experimentation! After that (only a 30 day program), I am going to see what 90 days, broken into 3 phases, of traditional lifting with P90X/Insanity cardio can do. I have will being using the work and articles of Layne Norton (PhD and Pro Natural Bodybuilder) as a guide and backdrop. I will being keeping this blog going and truly see what I can do.

Thank you so much for following along. Thanks to Tony Horton and Wayne Wyatt. BeachBody, you make amazing products! Anyone would be crazy to not give them a try. I really like what Shaun T. says, "If this program doesn't work for you, you haven't done the work." Eat clean, push hard, and BRING IT every day!

The greatest thanks are owed to my beautiful bride, Erin. She put up with a lot. All of the days of chicken breast and broccoli. Morning workouts and the fear of waking up John. Money for whey and supplements. More chicken. You are the best, love. I could never have done this without you and I still can't believe that you picked me for the rest of your life. I love you.

God Bless!

David

The Final Week

I am currently in my final week of P90X. Typically, this would be a recovery week full of yoga, core work, and some cardio... Not for me! I have replaced my recovery week with the new Insanity program from Shaun T., The Asylum. As mentioned before, Asylum is a sports based performance program. It was designed to move you past Insanity and really get you ready to be an elite athlete. I sampled a few of the discs before this week. Let me say, they are some of the most intense combinations of moves I have ever attempted. Your heart rate is through the roof the entire time. This week has started well. I am thankful that I practiced some of the workouts before this week, and I believe I am going to see some great progress from the Asylum.

Part of my Asylum experience is a competition I am taking part in. I am a member of TeamRipped with Coach Wayne Wyatt. He was challenged by a fellow coach and team (TeamXcellentFitness) to see which team could dig deeper and get more out of the Asylum. Winners will get infomercial spots and free stuff. Shaun T. himself is the final judge! Since the Asylum is for sports performance, I have recorded some pre-Asylum data. I ran a mile,  40 yd spirit, 20 yd shuttle run, and vertical jump. Only time will tell, but I am very optimistic.

Pay Day
Sure my goal in all of this is to get ripped... I mean really, I want to see what my body can do. I am also very thankful that I am getting healthier. How much healthier... well I had blood-work done for my yearly physical. Here are the highlights:

Ht: 6'1" - on a tall day... which was today!
Wt: 160.4 lb (clothes on)
Cholesterol: 183 (down 23 pts)
Triglycerides: 66 (down 56)
HDL: 54 (up 9)
LDL: 116 (down 21)

CHOL/HDL ratio 3.4 (down from 4.5)

Booo yah! Look what clean eating and exercise can do... my doctor is a great guy and really funny. At one point he said something along the lines of, "I mean who knew diet and exercise would make you healthier. Thanks for listening." I was also down 25 lbs. from that last doctor visit. I couldn't be happier! Thank you Tony Horton and thank you Wayne Wyatt for showing what I could do if I stuck with it.

Walls - Motivation for Pushing Through

At one point or another you will have to push through come barrier during a workout or during your round of P90X. It may be a lack of motivation. It may be discomfort and pain. It could be sore shoulders (HELLO! Week 1-3!!!). You may also have to push through some illness. I just came through a little sickness. I had some sort of head cold/sinus/sore throat/no voice/flem making illness. After a week of teaching and nights of parent-teacher conferences, I was spent. It is rather hard to feel motivated to dig deep and bring it. For moments like this, you need to refocus on your goals. Why are you committed to this program? Why be so different? Isn't it weird to be getting up at 3:45 am everyday to move around some iron, jump, squat, run in place? You need to be careful when letting these questions develop as they can get out of hand. You are doing this to be different! My coach, Wayne Wyatt, posted a great piece about this (a lot of this is coming from him - credit where credit is due!)... Normal is not working! I want to be weird.

What does a normal American have going on? Lousy food. Overly saturated with grease and fat. HUGE meals. Skipped meals. High blood pressure and cholesterol. Meds. New clothes = bigger pants... untucked shirt to try and hide the belly. No energy. More TV. Sound normal? It should, that is what Americans, in large part, have become. It is time to be different. It is time to be weird.

Most people looked at me and thought, some said, well you didn't have any weight to lose. Sure I seemed ok. I was 187 lbs and at almost 6'1", that was spread out. But I had moved up slowly from 32" waist, to 33", and to 34". I was getting ready to move again! I was carrying my weight in my gut. It was thanks to my love of hot wings and home brew.

Enter Round 1 this fall. I dropped 21 lbs. I fizzled out near the end and felt like I didn't give my all. I had skipped workouts. I had completely taken off the "recovery" weeks. It was a hollow victory at best. There were some rays of sunlight, I was down to 32-33" pants and I felt good.

For Round 2, I wanted to be different. I wanted to be weird, crazy, completely committed, no hollow victory this time. Sure there are times when I want to give in. You can skip this move, you could just eat some of that. It wouldn't be that bad. Get behind me Satan! But really, temptation is temptation. Now I am not saying you are sinning if you don't go crazy and see if you can get absolutely ripped. What I am saying is, if you make that commitment, it is a one time thing. You never have to go back and recommit. You are going to workout for an hour a day, six days a week, for 90 days. You will eat only things that fit into your day and fulfill your macro needs. Making that choice once and for all, you remove the thought of breaking your own covenant. Decide, COMMIT, succeed. You can do it.

With 4 regular workouts left, and a week of recovery (very active recovery = Asylum), I am down to size 30" waist. I initially dropped to 156 lbs at 10% body fat, I am back up to 159.5 lbs, with only 8% body fat. I have never seen my abs. Ever. Never in elementary school, middle, high, college.... never. I can say that now, I can see my abs. No more hiding under a layer of fat!

This post was a little all over the place, but be encouraged. Don't get caught up on only the end goals. Do it for today... in your nutrition and exercise. Bring it. You may be sore tomorrow, but we will still be moving forward. I had doubts, but as each week has passed, I noticed changes. My workout sheets showed increased weights and reps. Things in the mirror look different. My pants were loose. I bought new ones. Those got loose again. My mom got me a couple more pairs. Change is inevitable if you stick with it.

May God bless you and keep bringing it!
David

Insanity: The Asylum - Vertical Plyo

Today I decided to sub in the Vertical Plyo workout from the new Insanity... PlyoX has been great, but I wanted to practice Vertical Plyo before the teamRipped challenge. I should have know something was going to go wrong when I slept in a little too late. My wife told me if was time to get up, but I must have rolled over and fell back asleep... 

What the world! I mean come on?!?! The warm-up was crazy. I first noticed how bad I am at jump rope. I ended up just doing the moves without the rope for the warm-up. It was killing me, and this was only the beginning. At the 10 minute mark stretching begins. I was so thankful to stop and stretch. The workout in its entirely is only 40 minutes. Nice and sweet right? Wrong. It is devastating. Each move is directly after the previous move. Moves are completed for a minute or more at a time. I maybe kept up with about 50% of the workout. There was a lot of knee grabbing and plenty of bending over. But this is why I am practicing, to get better. The moves were not too complicated, just hard. Single leg power jumps made me feel foolish. Can't I get up more than this? All in all, it was awesome. I felt entirely defeated and determined to get better. I can't wait to do the 30 days of this program. I am sure I will be a better athlete because of it! 

By the numbers: Time: 40.05 AVG HR: 146 Peak HR: 175 (would be higher, I just had to recover) Total Cal: 581

Close to 600 calories in only 40 minutes... pure awesome. I can't wait until next Tuesday to do more and to be better.

DIG deeper! (New line...) Oh and BRING IT!

Many Blessings,

David

My Sample Diet - Phase II and III (Update!)

"I'm having lobster bisque, but it's not for me." - Tony Horton

I felt it was about time to update you on what I am doing nutritionally for these final phases. To see why I got here, we need to look back. I tried to maintain the Fat Shredder percentages for as long as I could. I even ended up bumping my calories to around 1900 a day at 50p:30c:20f. This worked for about a week (around 40 days in), but my body was calling for more carbs. As your body-fat percentage drops, you have smaller stores of energy to draw upon. You may have heard the phrase "bonking during a workout." This happens when you either have not consumed enough carbs or don't have any in reserve to draw upon. We want to avoid bonking because obviously you can't give your all during the workout. You may be temped to do too many cheat reps, sacrifice form, or just give up before failure. You would never be able to maximize your results. Secondly, you body will start using the muscle you have worked so hard to gain as its energy source. No one wants that! I was bonking and getting really hunger so I moved to 40p:40c:20f and roughly a 2200 calorie daily target. Still a slight deficit but more of a weight maintaining target. It has been delightful!

Outside of doing my best to hit my macros (240 g Pro and Carb, 49 g Fat), I also looked closely into my carb timing. My first meal of every day is always my post workout shake. The Results and Recovery drink for P90X is great. It has a lot of fast digesting carbs (39g) and some protein (10 g ). I ran out, and at $50 a tub... I will do my own concoctions for a while. I am taking 40 g of whey and roughly 40 g of fast carbs, usually from a banana. I have also started trying straight table sugar. Both the banana and the sugar cause a spike in insulin which is aid in glycogen (stored carbs) synthesis and protein synthesis. Timing is everything, your muscles are like sponges for up to an hour post workout. Without proper nutrition post strenuous exercise, you could experience proteolysis (protein breakdown). I also include some low GI (glycemic index - slow digesting) carbs to extend my body's carb usage. This is accomplish through some Ezekiel bread (sprouted grains). I usually include some fats (Natural PB) to make this a complete shake/whole food meal.

During the rest of the day, I taper my carbs as I approach the afternoon. I attempt to only eat fibrous carbs (no grains) after my afternoon snack (3 pm). No carbs whatsoever after dinner! These changes have made a big difference. I am feeling strong and have lots of energy to push through my workouts and then my day. I am getting up at 3:45 to work out, eat by 5:00, get ready for work and pack food, devos by 5:30, leave around 6:15... from there I get to school around 6:45 and teach all day. After school I am helping out with the MS track team. I head home around 3:45 (30-40 minute commute). Then I take care of my son while my wife is coaching tennis. The evenings are filled with normal life things and a little work here and there. I hit the sack around 9:30 to 10:00... to start it all over again! With that schedule everyday, I can positively say I have more energy than I have ever had. I give all the credit to P90X and my changes in nutrition. I am doing more and still wake up ready to Bring It everyday!

I am still tracking everything, although I am eating so many similar things that I don't have to watch my day as closely. I can hit my macros fairly easily without tracking until the evening. I must also thank my wife for turning me on to myfitnesspal.com. It does not have the awesome pie chart for your macros, but it has a huge user made data base of food items. I have not had to punch in a custom food yet! It even has all of my regional store's items (Meijer). It has a much faster loading site to boot.

I hope this gives to a insight into what I am doing. Please feel free to email at davidcjeffries@gmail.com with any questions or find me on Facebook (David Jeffries). Keep pushing play and God bless!

David

Complete Sample Days to follow shortly!

This was a 40p/40c/20f day at roughly 2200 calories:

1MR Review

Pre-workout supplements are everywhere. Many promise to do almost everything. My first experience with a pre-workout was in college and was with N.O. Xplode from BSN. It was pretty amazing stuff back in the day. It had this little bit of fizz and it really gave me HUGE focus. I just wanted to keep pushing. I know that the formula has changed over the years, so I tried some not too long ago. Where was the love? No perceivable increase in focus, marginal energy, and no pump. I have also use Gaspari's SuperPumpMax. I talk to that in an earlier supplement overview post, so I won't take the time now.

On to my new experiment, BPI's 1MR (1 More Rep). I found it on Amazon for $30 and free shipping. I had been hearing great things about the product and needed to see for myself. 1MR takes aim at other "concentrated" formula (*cough* Jack3d *cough*), stating you only need one scoop. No more! Ever. I was first shocked at how small the bottle was. If you've bought Jack3d before, very similar size. There are 28 full servings.

I took my first serving before a PlyoX session. After shaking it with the recommended 6-8 oz of water, I downed the fruit punch mix. It had mixed completely and was not hard to finish. The taste was enjoyable. I had gotten up at 3:45 am to take the 1MR (with a little window to let it work its magic) and sweep the garage. By 4:05, I was getting my knees up and moving some blood around. The first thing I noticed was flushed, itchy ears. I believe this is from the Niacin in 1MR. It hung around for a while but was not annoying. My realization of the effects 1MR came after the first two sets of PlyoX. I remember thinking about whether I could feel it working, and almost as quickly as I had that thought I said, "Man Plyo is a breeze today!" I was getting upset at Tony for not getting into the next move quickly enough. I was extending each move (an extra 10-15 seconds) to make use of the down time. 1MR really allowed me to push out one more rep. It is intense and it is the real deal.

How would I rate it?
Energy 10/10  Taste 8/10   Pump 9/10   Focus 10/10  Face-Redness 7/10 -it could have been redder :)


Diclaimer - you could read this on the bottle. If you are sensitive to stimulants... this is not for you! Super intense and does include a fair dose of caffeine.


Cool video from a 1MR - Win a trip to Arnold - contest. Enjoy and God bless!

Looking Ahead

Even though my round of P90X is not even over yet, I am planning what is next! I have decided to enter The Asylum with Shaun T. of Insanity. This is a 30-day strength, cardio, sports based program. Here is a quick overview from Beachbody! LOOKS CRAZY!!!
__________________________________________________________________________________

Train like a pro. Play like a star in 30 days.Winning the game, the race, the match starts now with INSANITY: THE ASYLUM™ workout program. Former track-and-field star Shaun T will push you to Dig Deeper^® than ever with sports-specific training and drills inspired by pro athletes. During this 30-day program, he’ll push you to build your speed, coordination, agility, strength, and power. So on game day, you’ll have the unbeatable athletic edge.  Here’s what you get with INSANITY: THE ASYLUM: 6 Intense Workouts:

• Speed & Agility: Get quick on your feet—fast, with this intense cardio workout. (45 minutes)

• Vertical Plyo: Jump higher than ever with this lower-body training routine. (40 minutes)

• Relief: Stretch out to build long, lean muscle and increase your flexibility. (25 minutes)

• Strength: Increase your strength and power by cross-training with weights and resistance. (50 minutes)

• Back to Core: Build the rock-solid core, glutes, and hamstrings for the explosive power you’ll need to play and dominate at an elite level. (45 minutes)

• Game Day: Put your new sports skills to the test with this cross-training workout. (60 minutes)

Plus, sports-inspired training tools:

• Agility Ladder: Build strength and agility by using this portable ladder to sharpen your focus and your form.

• Speed Rope: Improve your foot speed and endurance with this ultimate training secret.

• ASYLUM Workout Calendar: Check it each day to cross-train like a professional athlete.

• Guide Playbook: Map out your 30-day transformation with this smart step-by-step guide.

• Eat to Win Nutrition Plan: Follow meals and tips used by Shaun T and you’ll be ready for game day—every day.

And receive 2 FREE bonus workouts:

• Sports Performance Assessment: Discover the improvements you’ve made in your fitness and skills with this performance measurement tool. (25 minutes)

• Overtime: Add this 15-minute monster to any Asylum workout to see if you’ve still got game.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Go from Average to Elite in 30 Days or your money back.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Day 60

Day 60 is finally here! I am currently 2/3 of the way through P90X. It is great. I had been feeling well, but this morning I had some weird stomach/back discomfort. Shooting through my mind was the thought of a kidney stone. I have witnessed my wife muscle through one before... and I can't have this happen. I am not sure if I am just psyching myself out, but nevertheless, I am drinking TONS of water and moving all over the place. If it is a kidney stone, it won't stop me!

The experience so far has been so rewarding. I am frequently, and pleasantly, surprised at what my body can do. For a Day 60 treat, I added a weighted back pack to my push-ups. P90X has two days of work for your back each week and I have decided to replace the YogaX days during the lifting weeks for a bonus lift day to give other areas an extra day. I am using it to hit areas that don't get enough attention and ones that I would like to focus on more. So for my morning I focused on chest, traps, and forearms.

That backpack is money! I am a little worried that it will break... I have had 20 lbs in it for pull ups and never felt worried. My routine this morning was a repeat routine (like Chest and Back). I ran through the moves the first time with 45 lbs in the pack (chest, trap, chest, trap, forearm, chest, forearm, chest, trap). It was a little difficult to get the backpack on and off, but it worked well. I was still able to pump out reps in the 15-20 range (and I was saving some for the second round). Not too bad. For the second round, I upped the pack to 60 lbs. I have done push-ups on a scale before to see what weight I am actually lifting (crude but seems to be logical). That gave me a weight of 125 lbs for a standard push-up. Add in the 60 lbs and we are at 185 lbs. Now I lifted in college, I even worked up to repping 205 lb on a flat bench. 185 was a good working weight at the end of my year of lifting, and I would do 8-10 reps for 3 sets (135 warm-up, 185, 185, 175). This morning at 185 lbs of second round push-up mass, I banged out 20 reps on standard width, 15 on incline (feet up on piano bench), and 12 on military. I don't believe I have ever felt so good! Add to that a bunch of shrugs, forearm curls, and flies! Wow what a way to start the last 30 days!

On to the pics: Here are Day 1, 30, and 60. I think something is working.  :)

Keep pushing play and keep bringing it! God bless.
David

My Favorite Supplements

Nutrition can only bring you so far. Supplementation can help fill in the gaps that our whole food diets leave behind. These gaps can get even larger if you are pushing your body really hard with intense workouts like P90X or Insanity. Here are my favorite picks:

Whey Protien: Protein is the key to building and maintaining lean muscle. Most people can't get enough protein for their diets from whole foods. To hit your nutrition goals, use a protein powder. There are TONS of choices out there, which span a wide price range. Look for around 20-25g of protein per serving and anywhere from 100-150 calories per serving. Carbs and fat should be low, in the 3-5g range for each. I have found Gaspari's Myofusion to be really tasty. It is a little higher in calories, but it mixes easily, has a great taste, and costs around $35 for 5lbs. Other picks would be O.N. 100% Whey and Cytosport 100% Whey.

Pre-workout: I have tried a bunch of different pre-workout supplements. Most are a stimulant-based, creatine, and NO booster. I am currently using Gaspari's SuperPumpMAX. I have noticed good focus and energy for my early workouts and no side effects (when kept at 1 scoop, 1.5 and above has caused some stomach discomfort... therefore I stick to 1 scoop!). I will be trying 1MR next... just get it to me, Amazon!

Creatine: There are probably as many creatine products as there are whey proteins. Creatine is produced naturally by our bodies by certain amino acids. Creatine helps repair and strengthen muscles (drawing water inside the cells). Creatine usage has been show to increase the maximum force that a muscle can make. I am using Sizeon from Gaspari. I am using the Pre-contest form as it is really low in carbs. It is a blended creatine and it is my first intra-workout. It not only has creatine but proteins broken down into their peptides for fast absorption. I am also stacking plain ol' Creatine Monohydrate in my evening shake (5g extra).

Multi-Vitamin: I know there are other people that take this part really seriously... but I don't. I use it as a catch all. I take a GNC Men's Sport Multi. I figure taking it is better than not, so I take it.

Recovery Week

Ahhhh sweet recovery... not to be confused with rest!

P90X is a complete program, and Tony has thought of everything. During my first round of P90X I did not take the recovery weeks very seriously. I viewed them as more of a rest week than a recovery week. I even took off the entire second recovery week. YIKES! This time around, I chose to trust the program and complete the recovery weeks as prescribed. They have been great! During the recovery weeks, you complete KenpoX, Core Synergistics, YogaX, and XStretch. These workouts will still challenge you but offer you a chance to recover from the normal stress of the program. My favorite of the recovery week is Core Synergistics. This workout works from your chest to your quads and offers some resistance work in the recovery week. The push-ups were a blessings. I have been so antsy about getting back to lifting! I can't wait for tomorrow morning (5 am for this week... sleeping in for Spring Break)! Core Synergisitcs gives you a good pump and focuses your attention to your core even on the chest exercises. I think that the change of pace also gives you the opportunity to get focused on really bringing it for the next phase. Phase III is already here for me. I AM READY TO BLOW IT UP!!!!

Take the recovery week seriously. Push play and push hard! Also, never forget your diet... I know it is easy to be a little lax when you are not pushing quite as hard with your workouts. If you are not burning your normal amount of calories from your workouts, you really need to make sure that your diet is spot on. 

Blessings,

David

The Man Cave

The beauty of P90X and the other Beachbody products is that you really can do them at home, in the living room, and without much equipment. I did my entire first round in the living room, in front of the family TV. It was good, but a little inconvenient for my wife. With our son getting older, and just being busy in general, I had to find a place and time to work out. I relocated to the basement and the Man Cave (PlyoX is in the garage). I also began to workout at 4 am. Yes it is a little extreme, but I have 30-40 minute commute and needed time in the evenings for my family. It was a little difficult to get up in the beginning, but I now really look forward to it. I haven't missed the sleep at all. It also sets up my eating pretty well (starts my first meal at 5:30ish).

So what does your workout area look like? Is it a specialized room or temporally converted living room? Well here is my space!

The Man Cave - Main space...

I play the DVDs on my computer and pump some of my own tunes in place of the P90X stuff. Lots of junk.










Manly Yoga Mat - Let over carpet... pad attached!

And yes that is a rifle... I ran out of cases. I had taken one from my father and he needed it back. It is a little Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. Fun lever action!

Oh and the piano came with the house... :(
I had a friend look at it once and say, "when I was working for a moving company, we called those widow makers... we always charged extra to get those out."









Mirror, Weights, and Chuck

With the adjustable dumbbells and some odds and ends, I can do it all. I had another Olympic set of weight and use it for rows (lawnmowers). Tony is right about getting strong from pull-ups. I am now pulling 75 lbs for rows.













So what does your space look like? I would love to see it! Mine is nothing glamorous... but it works. Keep bringing it and God bless.

My Sample Diet

Nutrition is 80% of the P90x equation. I really get a kick out of people who say that they are doing P90x, just not following the diet... I mean what do you expect! Garbage in garbage out. Without proper nutrition, you will not come anywhere near the amazing results P90x can give. If you are truly investing an hour a day and really bringing it with each workout, why wouldn't you fuel you body properly. It is really sad to hear of people that are discouraged, even after really pushing, because they failed to see the need for great nutrition.

I gave an overview of how I approach my diet in an earlier post. Here is an actual sample day of what I ate for the first 30 days. Again, I started on Fat Shredder (50/30/20) percentages at roughly 1600 calories.

Wake-Up - Work out (On an empty stomach is fine. You body is required to pull on fat stores for energy. You just have to Bring IT and be in the right mind set.)

Post Workout (5:15)
P90x Recovery Formula
1.5 Scoop Whey

Snack (8:30)
Pure Protein Bar
Apple

Lunch (12:30)
Chicken Breast (6-8 oz)
V-8 Low Sodium (12 oz)
String Cheese
Baby Carrots

Snack (3:00)
Jack's Jerky
1 scoop whey

Dinner (5:30)
Chicken (6-8 oz)
Broccoli (1.5 cups)
Spinach Salad

Snack (8:00)
FF Cottage Cheese (0.5 - 1 cup) Cottage cheese is a casein protein. It is slow digesting. Great for the night and before bed. This lets your body keep working into the evening. 

Some things changed based on my needs. I have found that you need to be recording all of your food. Use myfitnesspal.com or fitday.com, but you must track. If I went high in an area, I would dial it in with changes to dinner. I found it easier to go high on protein. I avoid all added sugar (only fruit). Only water for a beverage, no juice, beer, wine, soda, etc. I have skim milk occasionally... it is just a lot of calories for a drink. I do use some water flavor packs (zero sugar and zero calorie). With moving to 1900 calories, my portions have increased and I have added more carbs to my early meals and snacks (i.e. extra English muffins, brown brice, etc.). I noticed a drop in energy around day 38.. my body was asking for more and I needed to give it what it needed!

Supplements
I am using a few supplements to fill in the gaps of my diet and to get the most from my work.Whey is needed for almost everyone. It is really hard to get enough protein from whole foods. Whey is a fast snack too. I use the P90x Recovery Formula (40 g carbs, 10 protein, creatine) only on cardio days. Otherwise my post workout has a banana added for fast carbs. I am using creatine in the form of Gaspari's SizeON. This is an intra-workout supplement with tons of amino acids and protein peptides. I also take 5 g of straight creatine with my afternoon shake. For a pick me up and nitric-oxide boost, I use Gaspari's SuperPumpMAX. This has helped a lot with my workouts... 4 am is early and this gets things started. Lastly, I am taking a multi-vitamin from GNC. This rounds out my vitamin and nutrient needs.

Day 45 - Half way!

Day 45

This is a really cool point in my program. I am feeling amazing and I couldn't be happier with what I am seeing. I feel so fortunate to have the ability and time to physically train like this. It hasn't been easy, but it has been worth it. 


Discipline is the one character trait I have placed at the top of my goals for this round. My first round was good (followed the original portion guide), but this time it is serious. My men's group studied a book by Bill Heybels about character – who are you when no one is looking. The trait of discipline jumped right out at me, and equating it to delayed gratification drove the point home. As a society, we do a horrible job putting off even acceptable, good pleasure and we want everything to be here and now. I have found such peace and satisfaction in disciplining myself. It has poured over into all areas of my life. My walk with the Lord, my relationship with my wife, my career, and of course my physical training. If you are in the mood for a good read, it was really convicting. 


Keep bringing it and let your determination for your workouts and diet enter all other areas of your  life. It is also not my adaptation of a great P90x quote by a TeamRipped member, but remember, "Do your best, and don't forget the rest!" Your life is so much more than one thing. Working out is only beneficial if your priorities are straight. Serve the Lord first and foremost and do all thing as unto him. My determination and self-discipline may have got a kick start from P90x, but now it is my determination to do all for the glory of God that allows me to BRING IT!


Share the Gospel!
Here is the God that I serve. The Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is what he has done. We have all fallen short of the high calling of God. There is nothing we can do on our own to put us back into a perfect relationship with him. We are all sinners, fully depraved. God loves us so much that he sent his son, the Lord Jesus, to Earth. Christ was perfect. Never sinning... the only one worthy of his Father's calling. Christ gave up his life, submitting to death on a cross. His death has paid your debt to God. He was raised from the grave on the third day. He offers forgiveness and atonement if you only accept him as your Lord and Savior. 


Many Blessings!
David 

Crazy SelectTech Sale - BowFlex!!!

From www.teamripped.com and the wonderful Coach Wayne:


"It’s Back!!  Hurry!  3 days only, for those of you who have been waiting for the next Bowflex sale!!!

I know there was a big response last time Bowflex had a sale on the Selectech dumbbells, and one of our loyal teamRIPPED members (Jonathan B.) just alerted me they are back on sale today (the same deal as last time), where the 552 dumbbells are 40% off (which makes the set $239 plus tax).  FREE SHIPPING!!

If you missed it last time and want them, go for it!  I got some when they were on sale and I’m loving them.

Promotion code at checkout = D4PFSE2

Keep bringing it gang!"

That's right, go to bowflex.com and go to the store-front... you really can't beat this price! FREE SHIPPING! Act now and get some great P90x gear!!!

My Coach!

New blog = lots of posts. I figure I have been sitting on these thoughts for over a month now... I have mentioned my coach a couple times now, and I thought I should share his story with you. He is the reason I am so pumped about this program. Wait until you see his transformation, you will know what I mean. I knew if he could do it, I could copy him! Again, his name is Wayne and he is awesome. He is a believer and is very open about his faith in Jesus. I love that about him. Wayne is the father of five and an orthodontist. Here he is!

As always, you can find his work at www.teamripped.com!

Nutrition Overview

I am amazed at what difference I am seeing with my change in nutrition. I completed the first round of P90x using their nutrition guide. They calculated me as needing Level II, or 2400 calories daily. This was great! I ate a lot of good food... but it was too much food to really drop my body fat. Here is a quick overview of what I am doing this time around.

P90x Calculations
RMR = Weight x 10               (So, 160 x 10 = 1600)
Add
Daily Burn of 20% of RMR    (1600 x 0.2 = 320) Total now, 1920.
Add
600 calories for the approximate P90x workout.  TOTAL 2520!  That put me square in the level II range.

That is what I stayed at for the entire first round. On the advice of my coach, I decided to run a deficit. I landed on a 900 calorie deficit for the first 30 days. I wanted to hit roughly 1600 calories. You won't drop fat quickly without a healthy deficit... don't worry about going too low, males above 1200 is still safe and females 800... after that you will lose muscle.

P90x is broken into 3 phases for workouts and nutrition. Phase I of nutrition is called the fat shredder phase. It has your calories coming 50% from protein, 30% from carbs, and 20% from fats. You can stay in this as long as you want. Moving to the next phases will slow fat loss. In order to know if I have hit these percentages, I have tracked everything that eat (I mean everything!). I use a free online program called fitday.com. Other programs exist and there are apps as well for you tech people.

I have now bumped to 1800 to 1900 calories as I have lost a fair bit of fat and need the extra calories to sustain my energy levels during my workouts and day (with less fat to pull on for energy you will slow muscle growth if you stay too low). I am about to move to the second phase of the nutrition program as well. My percentages will change to 40/40/20 (P/C/F). Phase III is 20/60/20.... crazy carbs, but your body is a million dollar sports car by then and burns everything you put in it!

Lastly, I eat every 2.5 - 3 hours. This keeps your metabolism rocking all day long. I am also not cheating. I only eat items from the P90x nutrition plan. I use whey to hit my protein needs and eat extremely clean! No beer, no cookies, no sweet, no soda... (a little diet as a treat once and while). You really need to decide, commit, and then you can succeed with this program.

I know this is a little rushed and brief... but it gives a good overview of what goes into the nutrition aspect of P90x.

Day 1 - Day 30

Here are the photos from Day 1 and Day 30. All from eating clean and working hard...

Here is just this morning... I want that 6-pack badly!

Day 42 - Almost halfway home...

So I decided to start this blog a little later into the program than I would have liked. I do however feel much more informed on the topic of P90x and what goes into making it a success. Posted here will be updates and encouragement for those wishing to complete P90x or those just wanting to following along with my progress.

Last fall, Aug 2010 - Nov 2010, I completed one round of P90x. I committed to the program fully and used the portion plan that was included with the nutrition guide. I ended up getting stronger and losing 21 lbs. (186 to 165), but I never got ripped like the infomercials. I can hear a lot of people saying... well those are the infomercials... you can't expect those results. But I didn't buy it... did I really go hard enough? So I took some time off and returned to some of my less than desirable eating habits.

After the New Year, my wife got started working out and frankly I was jealous. I looked for a way that I could work out as well. P90x is a large commitment. The DVDs are all about one hour in length, and with a 6 month old... an hour in the evening was not an option for long. Planning what to eat takes time as well. Erin made it possible for me to work out in the evening after John went to bed, but it was getting old. I decided to move to morning workouts, and I can tell you it was the best decision yet. I feel great before work and love knowing that I have it already accomplished for the day. It is never hanging over my head.

I attribute my success and progress so far with my coach. Beachbody uses free coaching and coaches as a way to sell their products. It is MLM, but the guy I found is truly just passionate about fitness and the BB products (he even told me not to buy something because of the price... he is truly a great guy). His name is Wayne Wyatt. He might just have the most amazing transformation I have ever seen. I looked at what he did in 90 days and said, "I must know what he did... I could copy him exactly!" His site, www.teamripped.com, has been a HUGE resource. Wayne directed me on a deficit diet. Back to my first round, I was eating 2400-2600 calories a day. Fine for my weight, and I still lost some, but way too much to really drop fat. I settled on a 1600 calorie plan for the first 30 days at P90x's Fat Shredder percentages (50 pro/ 30 carb/ 20 fat).  I have stayed at those percentages but bumped my calories to roughly 1800-1900. Man has it worked! I started this round at 168 lbs. and by day 30, I was down to 159 while still growing muscle.

I currently am hovering at 158 lbs. I have gone as low as 156, but I seem to be staying put as I lose body fat and gain muscle. I am hoping to put back on some weight in the form of lean muscle through the last 30 days. I will have to adjust my intake and percentages to achieve it.

So, that is a quick overview! Stick around and check in. I will do my best to post frequently and with posts that go into more detail about the actual program and things that I have found helpful.

God Bless,
David