After getting married seven years ago and having our first child, health and fitness became an afterthought. I put on some weight, 235 to be exact (my normal weight is around 195-200) and started losing some of my confidence. I knew when my size 36 pants were getting tight it was time for a change.
I started watching my diet closer and in a couple months lost 10 lbs. This felt good, but I was missing something. I needed that "edge" back that I used to feel when I was playing sports, lifting, and running.
I watched an infomercial for an extreme at home workout called P90X. I kind of laughed at it a first, but the more I watched I more I thought this might be the real deal. This wasn't a old guy sweating to the oldies or a lady touching her toes. These looked like real people getting serious and working hard. Something about that appealed to me.
I ordered the P90X program in September of 2007 and started the program in October. The first thing I noticed about the program was that it was serious and I actually was not prepared for it. It has a fit test that you need to pass before you start and I failed! I went ahead and started anyway with many modifications. The first round I made it about 60 days and then we left for a trip.
My results for 60 days were good. I lost some weight and started getting some muscle. My diet was fair at best during the first 60 days. When I returned home from our trip, I was committed to give this thing my full attention. I worked our regularly and ate better.
By the end of April, I was already down to 200 lbs. and had gain some serious muscle in the process. People saw a difference and I looked better, but the most important thing was that I simply felt healthier. I don't need to impress anybody, but I looked and felt better and got my "edge" back.
I think any fitness program is a good one, but P90X is the real deal if you want to get fit. Since starting P90X, I have become stronger, faster, leaner, more flexible, and my cardio has improved dramatically. I love the variety of strength training, cardio, and flexibility, not to mention the ab routine is intense.
For anyone who is feeling out of shape and wants a challenge to improve their life, I highly suggest this program. You owe yourself one hour a day to change your life. As one person said, this isn't P90X, this is P lifetime X.
Here are a few pictures of me along my journey. Don't laugh! The most recent on the top right is from last year, April 2009. I didn't really get serious with the program until 2008.
