P90x and fitness

[cloud]

So I've taken up P90x with my friend, we're halfway in to week 2 now. It's pretty intense, I guess. I'm kinda wondering whether I'll actually see results in 3 months or not, seeing as how I'm skinny as hell. There's a lot of jumping around and being in 'horse stance', and that makes your legs sore as fuck. It hurt to walk up the stairs a couple of times the first week.

I eat a lot, but I never gain weight. I've been 140 lbs/5'8" for the last year or so, I'd say. And I DO eat a lot.. close to 2400 calories a day, on average.

Anyone here try P90x or any other fitness program with promises of results? How'd that go for you? From what I see on youtube and shit, people gain a lot of muscle (from P90x, specifically), but they don't look supertoned or anything. But most of them started out fat.

For the skinny people, did you take any supplements (protein powder?) and did they help? What do you recommend for someone in my position?

I know P90x attracted me because it had the whole quick result thing (using the patented power of MUSCLE CONFUSION!), but if this is a bust then I might as well just get a gym membership and try that. I guess the promise of results within the first month and a full do-over in 3 months is a good motivational tool, though.

On a somewhat related note, what is your take on multivitamins?

 

[Elbow Cancer]

The P90x thing looks intense as hell. I don't think it was designed as a weight-loss method, as they have some prerequisite fitness points they recommend users being able to attain before even starting. To me, it sounds like P90x is for people who are kind of in shape to get closer to peak physical condition. Whether that results in extra muscle or just simple toning should vary based on each individual's body and health. You could still be pretty skinny by the end of the series while gaining strength and endurance.

My take on multivitamins is to use them in moderation. What people should realize is that your body needs to put work into metabolizing whatever vitamin or product you're ingesting. Some people who are out of shape and decide to take a bunch of stuff might be overloading their kidneys and liver because their metabolic rate can't handle mass doses of even the good stuff. Ingesting the nutrients you need through food is still a good method just because the nutrients come at a managable rate. Now in some cases, one needs to cover deficiencies for a while, and I think supplements are great for those purposes. Using supplements as a substitute for a diet, or using it as some easy way out is a flawed notion that all too many people fall into.

 

[Atlas]

when i was younger i bought an ab roller...

needless to say it didnt work out. it was to hard to see the tv lying flat and it hurt my stomach while in the "crunch" position.

 

[havoc]

I love working out but sometimes it's hard to get motivation. I have free access to the gym at school, but I don't have a workout partner (who makes working out a lot easier and fun, plus you get more done when you actually work out sometimes). I lift weights with one of my friends once or twice a week at his house, but he's a pansy and tries to wimp out a lot of the time.

I do Tae-Bo and/or run about 3-4 times a week and then lift weights one day, but I wanted something that was really intense, as the Tae-Bo Advanced workout is good, but becoming not really much of a strain at all. I may try this p90x thing out, especially if it comes with its own eating plan, which is something I really want.

I avoid multivitamins when necessary--it is always better to get it from food and multivitamins have a tendency to tear up my stomach, and I eat pretty healthy anyway.

 

[Lee]

I've brushed over that site and this looks like a good launchpad since it seems very straight forward, well organised and easy to get stuck into. You'll probably need to invest in a gym membership eventually though since three months of hard work will fade away after a month or so of inactivity.

I know P90x attracted me because it had the whole quick result thing

If I can be blunt, I don't think that's a good mentality to begin a training regime with. Don't go into this with your eyes on the short term as you'll only end up dissapointed. If you really want this, then you need to throw yourself in for the long haul. You'll certainly see some results from three months of hard work though; most likely increased definition and probably vascularity if you're as skinny as you say but I daresay you're aiming for more than that and rightfully so.

As for the multivitamins, I have limited experience; I took them for about a month last year and I remember feeling much more energetic. They were too expensive for me to keep up, but my experience with them was generally positive.

Best of luck, cloud.

 

[Bologo]

Alright, if you're 20 years old, 140 pounds (63.5 kg) and 5'8" (172.72 cm), I'm going to calculate how many calories you should be eating on average every day.

What I'm going to do is use an equation that I learned in Kinesiology class called the "Harris-Benedict" equation. I'm going to assume that you have moderate physical activity and I'm pretty sure that you're a male. :P

First I'll calculate your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), which is the amount of energy you need to perform all of your essential bodily functions. Eg. This is the bare minimum amount of calories you should be having per day.

The equation for males such as yourself is:

Height (5 x 172.7) + 66.5
Weight (13.7 x 63.5) + 66.5

Subtotal = 930 + 936.45 --> 1866.45

Age (6.8 x 20) = 136 (subtract from subtotal)

RMR = 1866.45 - 136 = 1730.45 RMR

That means that you should be eating ~1730 calories per day as your bare minimum.

Now we're going to see what the average amount of calories per day you should be having is.

What we're going to do here is multiply your RMR by the following based on your physical activity.

We multiply by 1.4 if you're not very active.
We multiply by 1.6 if you're moderately active.
Lastly, we'll multiply by 1.8 if you're very active.

We're going to try all of them to see what your average per day should be:

Not very active = (1.4 x 1730.45) = 2422.63 kcal/day

Moderately active = (1.6 x 1730.45) = 2768.72 kcal/day

Very active = (1.8 x 1730.45) = 3114.81 kcal/day

Ok, so I can only assume that since you've just started p90x, but are doing it consistently, that you're at the moderately active level, which means that you should be eating an average of 2768.72 Calories per day, and that's the amount that you need to MAINTAIN your current body weight.

I saw on some websites that go by a little bit different factors than my E-Science workbook.

They went:

1.2 = Not active
1.375 = Lightly active
1.55 = Moderately active
1.725 = Very active
1.9 = Extremely active

Let's try those with your RMR:

Not active = 1.2 x 1730.45 = 2076.54 kcal/day
Lightly active = 1.375 x 1730.45 = 2379.37 kcal/day
Moderately active = 1.55 x 1730.45 = 2682.2 kcal/day
Very active = 1.725 x 1730.45 = 2985.03 kcal/day
Extremely active = 1.9 x 1730.45 = 3287.86 kcal/day

In other words, if you want to gain weight and gain more muscle mass, you're eating way below the average that you should be eating since you're eating a lower amount of calories for just maintaining your body weight, much less to gain weight. I'd assume that you're not in the "not active category, and not "lightly active" either since p90x is a tough workout and it only has 1 recovery day per week.

cloud, eat more food please, we would like to see you grow large.

If any girls wanted to try this equation to see their daily caloric need, then here are the numbers for females:

For RMR, it's:

Height = (1.9 x ____cm) + 665
Weight = (9.5 x ____kg) + 665

Subtotal = The height part + the weight part

Age = (4.7 x ____yrs) [subtract from subtotal]

RMR = subtotal - the age part

The factors for daily caloric need are still the same for the different activity levels. Multiply the RMR by one of those factors, and you will then have the Daily Caloric Need.

Hope I helped to give you some insight on what to do cloud.

P.S. My bro is doing p90x, it's quite cool, he drips of sweat every time (in disgusting amounts). He uses a protein shake to get himself going after he's done since he's quite tired after.

 

[cloud]

awesome input, guys, i really really appreciate it.

i intend to stay active even after the three months, i just want to get started with a 'quick results' thing because it'll keep me motivated. i do understand that inactivity at any level of physical fitness is the worst thing, but prior to this all i did was jog every morning/afternoon for 30-40 minutes.

it's amazing how i actually need to take in MORE calories than i already do; my physician said 2400 was probably pushing it! i haven't tried any of those 'recovery drinks' that they recommend so much, but they must be packed with energy so i guess i'll pick that up, too (gatorade sucks oh god i hate gatorade).

how far in is your brother, bologo? is he seeing results? the sweating is pretty hardcore, yeah, especially if you keep up with the video and do the maximum reps they do (i'm getting there, i guess.. i still have to slow down every once in a while, but hey, this is my second week :3).

again, awesome input guys : ).

 

[Bologo]

Ehh, well my bro did it for about 30 days in January, and he's begun to pick it up again for 2 weeks so far since he's done uni now so he has much more time on his hands.

In 1 month, the changes he saw were much more physiological changes than structural changes. Eg. His endurance was much higher by the end of January compared to the beginning, and he was able to sleep much much better, especially with the Yoga exercises and such.

However, I've noticed that his shoulders look a bit bigger than they were when he started, and I think his muscle mass increased quite a bit. I think that his quads are much tougher now because of all the plyometrics training, which looks pretty damn intense.

I'd say that for the first month or so, there will be much more physiological changes such as endurance, ability to rest, your body's ability to use oxygen (it needs to adapt to the changes of activity if you weren't so active before), etc. If you plan to go for 3 months or so, there will definitely be some structural changes in your body though.

There are some principles of training that you should take into account such as:

Principle of Overload - Training at just a bit more than your body can normally do is a good idea, because that allows your body to adapt to it, so that when you come back to that workout that was once too hard, it'll be a breeze. Eg. it's like when you're playing an RPG and you fight guys that are a higher level than you because they give higher experience than lower level guys

Principle of Progression - Work your way up when you exercise. If you start way too high, then you're obviously gonna crash. Eg. You should fight enemies that are a slightly higher level than you, but don't fight the final boss at the beginning of the game unless you can handle it!

Principle of Specificity - This doesn't apply a huge amount to p90x, but if it were to apply, then I'd say that if there was a part of your body that you really wanted to train, then specify the workouts to that. But, in p90x, it might be a better idea to go for the whole body. Eg. If you want to get better at sword mastery, fight the enemies with a sword and not a boomerang!

Principle of Reversibility - Make sure that you keep being active after you finish your training plan like p90x, because after a while, the changes that happened in your body from the workouts will eventually reverse themselves back to the way you were before you worked out, resulting in a big waste of time. Eg. In something such as shoddybattle, you can work yourself up to a humongous rating, but if you stop playing, it'll go back down to what it was when you started

Principle of Diminishing Returns - After training for a very long time, it'll get much harder to get changes in your body. You will notice a multitude of changes in your body for the first couple of months, but after a while, those changes will be much start coming at much smaller rates than when they started out. Eg. The higher your level, the more experience you need to level up, and therefore the enemies must be that much harder if you want to level up.

Principle of Individual Differences - Everyone is different, and therefore all changes happen at a different rate for everyone, so don't be disappointed if your changes happen later than your friend's, and likewise, don't brag if your changes start happening earlier than your friend's, because they will come eventually if you keep up with the training! Eg. All characters level up at different rates.

Heh, just remember to keep those in mind for your mental motivation.

 

[Hyra]

I don't have much to say on topic, but Bologo is almost exactly quoting the health course I took at the beginning of this year. I guess that means he knows his stuff on the subject of weight training.

 

[darkie]

Bologo, those posts were pretty helpful. I think I should be eating about 2497 kcal a day. Also, I really liked the videogame references in the principles. That was a nice touch that really hits home on a site like Smogon.

 

[DM]

I absolutely love Bologo's posts and the way he translated from layman to nerdspeak.

I myself have experienced every single one of those principles in my own personal training. He has already laid everything out for you, but from someone who has had complete success with a regimen I completely made up myself, without anything extra aside from protein powder... just be consistent, don't get apathetic/lazy, and work your ass off. The other day, I was doing bench and when I got to the 7th rep of my last set, I had a feeling I wouldn't get the 8th. But I went for it anyway (keep in mind I had no spot (this is stupid, don't do it!)), and it took me everything I had to put it up, but when I finally did it felt fucking awesome.

 

[Elbow Cancer]

The other day, I was doing bench and when I got to the 7th rep of my last set, I had a feeling I wouldn't get the 8th. But I went for it anyway (keep in mind I had no spot (this is stupid, don't do it!)), and it took me everything I had to put it up, but when I finally did it felt fucking awesome.

When I was trying to get back into shape (something I lost after I started to work a lot in HS), I had to go by this exact principle to do it. A lot of times, that one extra rep, or that one extra lap takes mental effort on top of the physical strain. The pain is a small price to pay when you realize that it's those last reps that will give you results in the long haul. I'm not one for injuries, but the wisdom still holds: no pain, no gain.

 

[QuickDraw]

from one helplessly skinny dude to another i would recommend creatine. i am 6'3" and used to weigh 168. i had a hard time keeping it at that too.... all i did was exercise with no real gain. i've been using creatine for a little over a year and i am at 190lbs. i don't plan to get much heavier than this though. i like being slim. personally i would shoot for somewhere in the high 150s to low 160s if i were you.

 

[Cloggerdude]

I'm in my second week of the program as well Cloud.

I'm kind of the same body type as you, although not quite as skinny. I usually average around 155 pounds. The main reason I'm doing the program is training for sports, mostly volleyball. I can already tell my endurance has increased, even after just a couple of weeks.

I actually bought a thing of Creatine a while back, specifically for this program, but I think I have decided against taking it now. My main goal is to become more toned and flexible. Would taking Creatine hinder that goal? I've tried reading up on it, but it would be nice to hear some input from you guys.

Overall, I'm really liking the program so far and would recommend it to any of you that are interested. Like Elbow Cancer mentioned though, it's really not designed for someone who isn't in at least decent shape to begin with.

The Kenpo video is my personal favorite. I don't think I've sweated that much in a very long time.

 

[cloud]

Kenpo is my favourite, too. I absolutely detest Yoga and I don't know why, I guess it's because it's the longest of the bunch (1:30 is like any other workout + ab ripper : |). Ab ripper is a lot of fun, too, because I can get all the mason twists at the end and that makes me feel good : 3.

To anyone else starting to work out or whatever, DM is entirely right. You just gotta keep at it, and you'll start feeling good about yourself and that'll carry you further.

im noob xD