P90X 90th Day Results

Chest/Back (jacket size): +3.25"
Waist: -1"
Thighs: +1.75"
Calves: +1"
Upper arm: +1.5"
Forearm: +1"

Weight: +11 lbs, 171 to 182

Body fat estimate (caliper method): 13%

In short, it works. I still look like me, just a little more filled out.

The biggest changes come in the last 30 days of the program, and I was hampered by being out of town frequently and developing plantar fasciitis. I'm going to keep going for another 30 days to see what my "proper" results would be.

Program review wise, I'm pleased with it. The workouts are still hard to do even now, mostly because I've increased weight and reps to match my abilities. Here's my observations:

• It's the a good season-to-taste workout, because those of lower ability levels can simply do what they can, while those in great shape can push for more. It's definitely a general fitness program, not something geared toward "just" weight loss or "just" muscle building.
  
• Guys who are only looking to bulk up are going to be disappointed. A guy looking to get in overall better shape will be happy. Again, think FIT. There's still some ways to squeeze more bulk out of the program, but it has to be modified a little bit to accentuate that desire - and it's still not the same as hitting the gym specifically for heavy lifting work.
  
• Women though...that's really the largest target audience, I think. Take a woman who is in good physical shape already, put her through this, and she'll get HOT in no time. The balance of cardio, stretching, and weight resistance can easily be modified to get really, really good results for someone looking to get toned with a little bit more muscle while burning a lot of fat.
• As always, it's generally much easier to drop fat than to add muscle. This thing will burn fat if the diet of the person using it is right. Gaining weight, as I did, is A LOT of work.

The three things I added to be successful:

1. Used myfitnesspal.com to track caloric intake, broken down by fat/protein/carbs.
2. Protein supplement - switched to BSN's Syntha-6, which really, honestly, tastes good. Every other protein I've tried has tasted horrible.
   
3. Twinlabs amino fuel. Recent addition, but I get less fatigue the next day when I take it ~15-30 minutes before a workout.
   

randomized babblings

Have finished reading a book I bought about three weeks ago, 1491 by Charles Mann. In it, a very different picture is painted of the cultures of North and South America before Columbus (and their subsequent demise) than we receive in US public education. The revised picture is one of widespread populations (hearing Carl Sagan saying "millions and millions") which actively shaped land and environment. All in all, an excellent (if slightly zzzzzzzz inducing) read which gives a new appreciation for the prior inhabitants of the two continents. I took it slow and methodical - there's a lot of information to digest, and while the author does make it as exciting as he can, the subject matter is "documentary in print"-like in nature.

There have been some speculations on other blogs that this work might (accidentally) represent some validations for the Book of Mormon. While it probably does, I'd say it raises at least as many questions about the possibility of pinning the events in the Book of Mormon to any one pre-AD1500 culture specifically. So in broad application, the material is very supportive, but to anyone wishing to "prove" the Book of Mormon account truthful by identifying a specific pre-Columbian civilization, I don't think there will be much luck.

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I love the days when every so often, I hit my second wind right at workout time. Makes me feel like I can do anything. I always wonder why it feels like that so rarely - most days I'm wishing for death very early on, despite doing my routine at the same time and in the same ways each time. Last night I not only did everything, but did it with considerably higher weight than usual. So much of exercise is mental. I just wish I could bottle up whatever I had going on last night. :)

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Have I mentioned that I hate computers lately? This is bad for somebody who works in the computer field...

Also hating plantar fasciitis. Not cool.

On the plus side, loving my beautiful wife.

Also happy that new windows will be coming to our home soon. Signed the contract for that this past week. No more freezy cold beds by the windows in winter. :)

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Doing more reading on the curses/marks topic. The more deeply I get immersed in it, the more I realize how flawed our "easy" interpretations of the scriptures lead us to be.