The sweetest-tasting recovery drink yet...You don't know how good it feels to be sitting here sipping my P90x recovery drink SHAKE and replaying the last 90 days over again in my head.
No more corn cob pullups.
No more crescent pose.
No more sneaky lunges.
No more slow-mo 3 in 1 pushups.
No more Dom jumping like an idiot during the Rockstar Hops.
No more Pam the Blam or *sigh* Sophia.
It's actually a little bit sad in a way knowing that never again will I see Tony's creepy leer as he Monster Truck Tire-leaps towards the camera. It's sad that I'll never grunt out "SIDNEY RICE TONY!!! SIDNEY RICE!" when he asks me who my receiver is during "Throw the Bomb". It's even a little bit sad that I'm not going to be able to grunt out "PUMPKIN AND CARROT" along with Eric as we both get ignored by Tony. The very worst part is that these inside jokes and comments are no longer going to be understood by anyone as I make my foray back into the regular weightlifting world, especially not the 305lb bro squatting the Buick in the parking lot.
Since I'm fresh off the program and still very gung-ho on fitness, I figured I'd list the pros and cons of P90x the best I can as my biceps shrink back to their regular size from my non-P90x *gasp* Back/Biceps routine I completed about 15 minutes ago.
I'll start with the Cons:1. For me personally, I feel that P90x is not a very effective mass-gaining program. I think that on first glance alone the sheer amount of cardio and the super-set structure of the resistance workouts resemble more of an overall fat-loss and toning program than any kind of mass-gaining workout. Then when you factor in the reduced calories and structured eating plan...well, it just basically sums up the fact that you're not going to get big doing this program. Some have experienced size gains through P90x and I think that's pretty impressive, but for me personally I would have to be eating a LOT more and lifting a LOT heavier weight to be gaining mass on P90x.
2. Everyone says this and I know that I should do it because it's good for me and it completes the P90x program and blah blah but I really really really wish Yoga was shorter. I don't have much more to add to the hate on Yoga except to say that it's probably the hardest workout to get up for. Even though the payoff at the end feels teriffic, I wish they would've split it up differently or something...I don't even know. Even the two babes in the video don't make up for it.
3. Dom
Pros:1. Sophia
2. I owe my current state of physical fitness mainly to the Plyometrics as it kicked my butt like no other workout has. Even at the end of P90x when I was able to do it pretty efficiently, it still had me breathing hard and dripping with sweat. If anything, Plyometrics and P90x have definitely conditioned me to the point where I feel like I can hurdle any kind of physical barricade life would throw at me.
3. You'd have to be pretty dense to not be able to follow the instructional videos that basically hold your hand through the entire workout, so for a pretty dense guy like me I appreciate how P90x doesn't leave any guess-work to distract me from my lifts. I'm never worrying about if I've done a certain move out of turn or if I need to take a break because P90x lets me know and FORCES me to do it. Some people who are versed in weight-training may turn their noses up at this and consider it restrictive, but I would like to remark that there is definitely something to be said for being able to put your mind into "Park" and let Tony and Co. guide you through your workout. One of the biggest problems I had when weight training was staying focused on what I was doing and risking a loss of intensity if I ever got off track in my lifts. P90x isn't really an intensity-machine but once you push play and get going with your workout you don't stop until it's done... and that's something that was a real change for me.
4. Whether it was trying to get more work done in a day in order to get home a little earlier for a workout or else preparing my daily meals a week in advance, I found that P90x had me filling in a few cracks here and there with my normal everyday life and helped me feel better about what I had to do in order to get my workout done for the day. It was kind of a give and take situation considering how awesome I felt once I was finished Plyometrics or Chest/Back for the night, but I really think P90x put me into a mental state that helped me take care of things in other areas of my life more efficiently. If that's getting a little too deep for some of you, don't hold it against me.
I'll post another final stats page at the end of the week with my Post-P90x fitness test results as well as some progress pics. Stay tuned till then, and once again thanks for reading.
