P90X Day 1: Why Refined Sugar is TERRIBLE!

So the first day is in the books for P90X.

It was miserable.

I intentionally didn’t eat well before I started to get out of shape so I could try to create a success story. I put on 10 pounds of mostly fat in the past month and about 6% body fat over the past few months.

Bad idea. I am never doing that again.

Although I might be able to relate more with some of you while trying to pull my Robert De Niro in Raging Bull routine, the immense amount of refined sugar I have eaten has knocked me out quite a bit on numerous levels.

My first workout was filled with additional breaks and moments of dizziness. If you get to this stage, stop. Don’t be a hero.

It hurt my form because I got tired more easily. It prevented me from having more energy to burn more calories. The bottom line is that the bad nutrition impacted my metabolism when it comes down to it. It is just demotivating in general because I have a lot of fat on my lean mass.

On top of all of that, guess what happens in general when you eat a lot of refined sugar? You have a hard habit to break now. You want to go eat more sugar after workouts because you have built it into your subconscious like Pavlov’s Dog Experiment. It is terrible folks!

Enough complaining…

The important thing is that I worked out. Exercise is exercise. I also have been eating a lot of protein and not sacrificing muscle. It will help me lose that fat over the next three months at a much faster pace because my muscle will continue to require a higher metabolism to maintain it after workouts. So my body will burn an extra 100-200 calories post work out just because I have more muscle than the average person.

Here are some first day notes:

Core (Ab Ripper): I really want to work on Abs. This has always been a trouble area because fat leaves my love handles and gut last. I am going to do as Tony Horton says and not try to do this daily because I wouldn’t do that with other muscle groups. I might do some extra work during my work out to try to push myself there.

I will make core an emphasis and force myself to love it because I know I need it the most. I was able to do all of the exercises, but had to have some pauses longer than I wanted to. It will be interesting to see how I do as the week progresses because I have two more shots at Ab Ripper X.

Chest and Back: I naturally have a large chest and back. I do well in this area, but this is a double-edged sword because a larger torso makes my arms look smaller and I tend to struggle with building muscle in my arms. In other words, Pull-Ups are not my forte.

I was concerned about my stamina and that I could make it through the video so I used 25 pound SelectTech Dumbbells, far under my normal weight. One of the big challenges here for me comes from the Pull-Up bars as I mentioned. I haven’t done much in the past and I had to use support with my feet in order to accomplish the different exercises. I did well with reps ranging from 6-10. Most around 9 reps with the support of a chair. That is fine. I think my form has some work to do, but it is all about doing my best and forgetting the rest as Tony says.

It is key to understand that I am not going to do all that they can do the first several times. I am only competing with myself and you have to do the same. If you set unrealistic expectations then you have a higher chance to quit initially, unless you are cocky and stubborn like me.

Remember this is all a part of the process. I made some decisions recently that would put me in this situation to struggle with reps. It got so bad that I cramped up in my feet. I have to pay the price for my actions, but I also need to enjoy this journey and see how much I can push my body.

Afterwards I looked in the mirror and said, “Wow…I did a great job of letting myself go.”

It is obvious I got too emotionally down on myself. Partly because I expect to do a lot and I feel like I owe a lot to my readers.

Does that mean I stop? No it doesn’t. I just go on. If I can’t finish a video the first time around, then so be it.

I am just going to do my best in these 90 days. If I don’t hit my goal of 6% loss at the end of these 6 months and only hit 2% or 3%, then that is great in my mind. I am going in the right direction and I can take what I learned from this and improve on it in the future with my exercise routine and/or nutrition.

I know I am never coming back here again and you should have the same dedication and devotion to yourself and your exciting future. We are going to figure this out together one rep and one calorie at a time.

This is all a part of getting to “Know My Body” right?

Know My Body Stats:

Major Measurements:
Height:72 Inches
Weight:211 pounds
Body Fat: 24.2% (Excess Fat)
Body Fat Pounds: 51 pounds
Lean Muscle: 75.8%
Lean Muscle Pounds:160.3 pounds

Measurements:
Chest: 47″
Waist: 37″
Hips: 39″
Right Thigh: 24″
Left Thigh: 24″
Right Arm: 16 1/2″
Left Arm: 16 1/2″

P90X Fit Test Results:
Resting Heart Rate: 62 beats per minute
Pull-Ups: 6
Vertical Leap: 20″
Push-Ups: 40
Toe Touch: Toes
Wall Squat: 95 Seconds
Bicep Curl: 12 reps at 40 pounds
In & Outs: 25
Heart Rate Maximizer:
Immediately After: 122 Beats Per Minute (BPM)
1 Minute: 108 BPM
2 Minutes: 98 BPM
3 Minutes: 96 BPM
4 Minutes: 76 BPM

I am going to take a look at this again in a month and see where we are at. Again this is just to show you my progress. You should judge yourself against your own stats.

Meal Plan

Cooking the meals is a little too much for me. I will talk more about the meal plan and what I am doing in one of the future posts. I am following the P90X meal plan as best that I can while not costing myself an arm and a leg when it comes to time and money. My schedule is too busy to cook. Sometimes my girlfriend will be sweet enough to cook the meals for me and maybe a spouse or significant other will do the same for you. Try to eat natural foods as much as you can to maintain a high level of nutrients, but also be effective with your time and money. You will have to figure out that balance for you.

Anything else you want to know?

About Cade

Cade is the founder of Know My Body. Sorry...no doctor degree, fancy gym, multi-million dollar fitness program, or label as a self-proclaimed health guru of biblical proportions. He is a common guy just like you. Maybe that helps him get you a bit better.

He has worked the past several years trying to get a grasp of "health knowledgeries" from the perspective of a person working a 9 to 5 job and dealing with the normal and not-so-normal challenges that life gives. Visit our About Page to chew on some more knowledge about Cade and how we want to help you at Know My Body.