P90X-Does it Work-Day 30 Review of Phase 1

Late last year, after finishing the 35^th Running of the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC, I was getting ready for work and flipping through the channels on my old 27" CRT Screen and I stopped clicking to watch a few minutes of the Beachbody's P90X Infomercial.

I must have seen this commercial hundreds of times. Each time I was amazed at the results I saw on the television, and wishing I could have six pack abs also. Mind you, I am a 41 year old and my days of being in that kind of shape were over. Then like a ton of bricks bonked me on the head, I remembered my friend, Scott, who raved about P90X and completed it several times. He was in awesome shape because of it, and he's about 7 years older. This time I decided that I was going to transform my body to the best it ever has been and run in the Boston Marathon by qualifying at the Steamtown Marathon in October 2011.

I called Scott, and did not hesitate ordering the P90X Extreme Home Fitness System, which includes 12 DVD Discs, a Fitness Guide, a 3 Phase Nutrition Plan, and Tony Horton, your personal P90X Trainer.

By following the Fitness Guide that outlines the entire fitness portion of the system and with the Nutrition Plan, towards the end of the first 30 days of the program both my wife and I have noticed that:

• Our clothes are loser
• I buckled my belt to the next notch smaller
• We are able to do more push ups ever
• We are able to do a few pull ups without chair assistance
• Several people have commented our slimmer selves
• Most importantly, I am about a minute quicker on my running pace

The system begins with some "before" measurements, weight, chest, arm, and other sizes. Then you do a Fit Test for you Day 1 Fitness Level, which consists of heart rate, body fat percentage, number of pull ups, push ups, how high you can jump and so on.

There are 3 training blocks during the 90-day program, which basically builds on each other. Within each block the are 3 phases; Adaptive, Mastery (during the first 3 weeks of the block and a Recovery on the forth week. This is similar pattern that many top athletes follow, 3 weeks on 1 week off. This progression confuses the muscles so that they avoid hitting a plateau.

In Phase 1 the discs that were used during weeks 1-3 were Chest & Back, Plyometrics, Shoulders & Arms, Yoga X, Legs & Back, Kempo X, X Stretch, and Ab Ripper X. In week 4 we use Yoga X, Kempo X, X Stretch, and we are introduced to Core Synergistics.

Day 1 to 30, the nutrition plan for Phase 1 is called Fat Shredder, and is split up into 3 different levels depending on the amount of calories you need to burn during the day and the workout you are doing. Level I is an 1800 calories/day, Level II is a 2400 calories/day, and Level III is 3000 calories/day. You can approach the meals based on the meal plan approach or by portion control approach. There are many modifications you can make to dial the amount of food you need to achieve your goals.

By following the P90X Program Guide that outlines the entire process, along with the Nutrition Plan, you are on your way to being in the best shape of your life. As Scott says, "It's like a GPS for your fitness." I have another 60 days to complete the System, and I look forward to seeing the results and sharing them with you.

In another 30 days, you will be able to read a review of Day 60 Phase 2. Please visit www.runwithnoah.com to get updated on my progress, learn more about fitness and nutrition, reaching your goals, and a whole lot more.