Kicked Monday off with a little morning Yoga.  Due to time constraints (and was still late to work regardless), and because it typically hurts my lower back, I opted to skip past the yoga belly seven section.  But tried to bring it to all other areas.  One more yoga session on Saturday to bring the 90 days to a close!

Here we go, it’s Thursday and that means…just two – 2 workouts left until day 90!!!  So proud to have lasted and looking forward to continuing!

OK, so decided to skip Saturday’s workout and hold off until Sunday when Connor was napping for the final workout.  So, it’s officially Sunday and just wrapped up Yoga, making us official graduates of P90X!

Still have a ways to go…but things are looking up.  Will need to reshoot the pics in about a week and try to get a better angle that shows the results better.  My wife says in-person, she sees more results than the pics show.  Must be bad lighting .

What’s next on the horizon?  Thinking of bringing back and dusting off the old Bosu ball and hitting that this week along with some other short workouts to give my body a break, then starting next week, we’ll get into a hybrid of P90X and some other BeachBody or other routines.  We’re addicted now and want to keep moving forward and firm up more.  Gotta look great for our upcoming October vacation (cruise to the Western Caribbean) as a way of saying “great job” on sticking with this!

Hopefully my challenges, ups & downs, and persistence inspire some of the folks that read this to make a change, get off the couch and put down the bad food and get moving towards better health and fitness!  I’m here to help you through it.

After seeing the great results I’ve seen from P90X and BeachBody products overall, several of us got together and have organized FREE weekly workouts for the general public here in Myrtle Beach.

We kicked off the program on August 5th and had three local folks looking to start moving show up and participate!  Great way to kick it off.  We decided to go easy after some apprehension from one of the participants and opted for the Slim in 6 intro program.  Not a bad workout and definitely got everyone moving.  Lots of good discussion afterwards and interest in coming back next week with some additional friends.

The MB Fit Club is being held each Thursday evening from 7:30 – 8:30 pm at the Shrine Center in the Restaurant Row area of 17 Highway, Myrtle Beach.

Hoping a lot of people take advantage of the FREE program and becoming interested in their health and BeachBody programs and products to help them reach their goals.

Next Monday, the MB Fit Club is a sponsor at the Family Health Day at Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball Game!

Finally jumped on the scale yesterday and was happy to see that I reached my initial goal of losing minimum of 10 pounds.  The weight hasn’t been shedding like others but I think it my kick into gear with the detox.

Kicked off the week strong with Chest, Shoulders and Triceps.  I really brought it this morning and worked to bump my weight and/or my reps up.  I could feel it at the end, but it was great going through it.  I’m hoping I keep the same pace through the week.  Have to admit, that I really like all of the upper body workouts better than some of the others (yes, Plyometrics, I mean you).

Update

Figured it was time to update the week – in short this has been one of my best weeks and I can’t believe it’s going to end soon (or will it?).  Took on Plyo, Back and Arms, Yoga and today’s Legs and Back like it was no one’s business.  Only one left before it’s the end and what a way to end it with Kenpo!

Still working on what to possibly do afterwards – P90X again, or some of Tony’s 1-on-1 workouts.  I’m hoping I can get my hands on the 1-on-1′s as I hear they are shorter – especially Yoga down to 45-minutes.  We’ll see.

On another note, we kicked off Myrtle Beach Fit Club last night and had three others join us for our premiere workout.  Hoping it keeps growing and gets more people moving.  Check out the page on Myrtle Beach Fit Club (www.mbfitclub.com) for more information.

Wrapped up the final heavy week of P90X with Kenpo on Saturday.  Strong feeling of achievement!

Approaching day 60 and have realized several things.

1. I can’t believe how fast time has been going by – nearing day 60!
2. Even though the numbers on the scare aren’t moving, I see the difference in the mirror, in pictures and more importantly in how my clothes fit.
3. I’m able to do more in each workout – although I still struggle with some of the moves.
4. Waking up is still hard to do.  But the feeling after finishing up my workout makes it all worth it.
5. I actually see muscle, and can feel abs where my gut once was.
6. I’m stressing over having to miss a few days of working out – wouldn’t have thought that were possible.
7. I’m really excited about my progress and find myself talking to everyone about it.
8. I’m excited to get others working out and feeling some of what I’m feeling and seeing!

Since I’m on week 9, I’m back to my original first-week workout plan.  I find myself hitting pause on the DVD player because it’s been a while since I did some of these moves.  I can do these with very little problem and think about how I struggled that first week.  Great to think about how far I’ve come in such a short amount of time.

We’re set to travel over the next several days and have been stressing about completing my workouts away from home.  I thought about doubling up each day this week to get through them, but was advised not to do that.  So, I’ll take my DVDs with me and try to find some space to at least complete my Friday and Saturday workouts since I can do them without weights or bands.  One more workout at home (Yoga) before flying out tomorrow night.  I can’t believe I’m so worried about messing up my routine – now I know I’m hooked and committed.

And, next week when we get back should be a bigger challenge – first catching up but even more so, starting my 21-day medical detox that hopefully with clean up the toxins in my liver and get rid of my psoriasis!  Interested to see if the detox will also help me shed those pounds on the scale and give me some more energy!  Will keep things posted.

In the meantime, I’ve started a Facebook page for “Getting Fit With Tom” and am hoping I can inspire some folks with my commitment, transformation and results.  Please follow the page!

WEEK 10

Since we were away, we had to adjust our workout schedule to ensure we stayed on course.  Getting back in town on Monday evening, the last thing after a day of walking around and travel was to workout, and waking up the next morning after a trip was hard as well.  So, we decided to double up on Wednesday and continue to catch up.

Wasn’t ideal, but we did get all of our workouts in and successfully moved onto week 11.

WEEK 11

Started week 11 and a physician prescribed detox on Monday after no rest day on Sunday.  This is going to be interesting to see if the detox will have any negative effects on my workouts.  Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that my energy levels and strength/endurance seem to be lower.  I had thought that I would the opposite right now, but we’ll see what happens as I move through the detox.

Prior to starting week 11, we took a trip out to a local water park.  Wow, got to witness first hand the fattening of America and the problem with obesity, including child obesity.  Saw some very disheartening images of very young children, teens and adults in dire need of a lifestyle change.  Sure did make me feel better about the decision to get fit and change my lifestyle with better eating as well.

After making the hardest decision I had to make in a while – waking up each day for 90 days and working out before work – the decision to become part of a great organization that would help me not only physically, but financially as well was pretty easy to make.

Disclaimer – Having spent my career in the advertising agency/marketing world working on a variety of brands both large and small, I have always had a natural aversion to multi-level marketing-like opportunities.  My training and background conflicted with many of the promises and structure of these, and I was never a fan.

After speaking to my neighbor and learning about how things worked and how successful he was, I was intrigued.  He’s passionate about fitness and recently, I’ve reignited my passion for the physical part, having practiced healthy eating (for the majority of time) and the use of natural supplements over pharmaceuticals and lifestyle practitioners (chiropractors, functional medicine, acupuncture, massage therapy, etc.) over the traditional doctors.  It just made sense that I follow the same road as my neighbor.

Now, helping people is something that I like to do naturally.  I’m a firm believer in endorsing things I believe in, especially with true genuineness because I’ve used the product or service and have seen great results.  Therefore, this came as a natural extension.  And the best part, this wasn’t something that would require a hard sell – hell, I was convinced.  Plus, there’s no overhead.  You want to buy a product, click on my website, order and it’s billed and shipped to you directly.  I like that!

Ready. Set. Go.

Well, sort of.  I’m still a skeptic and analyzed the opportunity and my true commitment.  I probably should have jumped in earlier, but I would have been remiss if I hadn’t followed my gut.  And, the good news – there was nothing hidden to find.

Signing up was easy.  Having been provided with a link, it was as easy as clicking over, filling out some information and hitting submit.  I did it.  And, it didn’t hurt half as bad as my first week of P90X.

In a few days, I received a kit with some information (short workbook and two DVDs).  After watching and skimming through the workbook, I met with my coach (neighbor) and set up my websites (provided by beachbody), purchased a URL, and ordered business cards.  Then, I benefited from my new status with the discounted purchase of two products.  One being Shakeology, saving about $30 off the retail price.  Looking forward to letting others know about Shakeology and if I can get 3 more health-focused folks to try it, my next order is FREE.  Plus, I make some additional money off it as well down the line.

OK, so there it is.  It wouldn’t be a business opportunity without the prospect of making money.  I’ve sat through a webinar and also talked to my “coach” but there are still some things I need to set up or better understand before those weekly checks start coming in.  Having watched the promo videos and followed people on Facebook, etc., I know that many people make substantial income from doing something they are passionate about – encouraging health, wellness and fitness.  Sure, there is some work to do as well, but I’m looking forward to that.

As things are getting set up, I still plan on sitting with my neighbor/coach to make sure I’m doing things right.  And, my wife and I will be sitting down and writing down what we want to achieve in terms of goals and dreams.

Next up – Continue onto week 9 of P90X, dig in deeper into being a coach (btw, this has nothing to do with having to be a fitness expert or trainer – more of a representative/resource) and starting to get the word out to my friends and beyond about a simple way that they can change their lives through proven fitness products and a potential new avenue for revenue.  All this without having to really “sell” anything.

The biggest changes were to the chest, shoulders, triceps, back and biceps routines.  For me, these were what I was looking forward to.  I really think my best workouts happen in the upper body weight routines.

Catching onto the new routines came much easier than in the past.  And, I was able to note that the weights needed to be increased because what I thought heavy in the first phase were seeming light now.  Could it be that I was increasing strength?  All this hard work was paying off?  Oh, yeah!

Oh, and Ab Ripper X which once was something that I would shutter to think about and have to keep my hand on the remote to hit pause several times in the workout was now something that I breezed through – even the bonus round on the Mason Twist!

With each week, came more strength, flexibility and wellness.  We also introduced Shakeology into the mix – what a great decision!  If you haven’t tried it, you really need to include this great product.  Sure it tastes good and fills you up, but just thinking of all of the nutrients I was putting into my body helped me feel great.  We played around with the way we drank it – blended with fruit, etc. – but I preferred mine mixed in directly to my almond milk.  And, who would think that you could actually lose weight by drinking such a rich chocolate drink.  More like desert!

It was at this point that I really saw the physical changes happening (belt was in the last hole and still had wiggle room, clothes fitting better, wearing things I hadn’t been able to button before without issue, increased energy and actually liking what I saw as a reflection in the mirror.  I made the tough decision to help myself by waking up each day and pushing play, and it was paying off.  Next big decision was about to be made…

BeachBody Coach

Having signed up for the free account on www.beachbody.com, I was already discovering all of the great tools and support.  Also, really enjoyed connecting daily on Facebook with other P90X users across the country and reading about their successes and challenges.  In talking to my neighbor and viewing a few “opportunity” DVDs, we decided it was time to help ourselves in another area and this involved helping others.

I signed up to become a beachbody coach – giving me an opportunity to help others discover what I had about myself and my body, and give my family an opportunity to earn additional income.  I had witnessed my neighbor’s success and read about others online and knew this was something I could not only believe in and support, but also benefit from in the long term.

The proposition was pretty easy – join for $39 (which included $14 monthly fee and a one time fee for some startup DVDs and materials) and get the benefit of saving money on products and making money from product sales.  Everything pretty much paid off with my first order of Shakeology, saving $30 with each recurring order.  But more on that later in a separate post.

We’re now fully signed up and starting off on the new business venture, but continue to bring it to our workouts.  We’re not in mid-week of our 8th week (or 52nd day) and each day looking in the mirror and at each other, I can see the fruits of our labor paying off.

Week 9 may be a challenge in that we go back to our 1st week program, but we’re also planning an out of town trip that will cause a challenge to working out – but we’re planning around it or trying to figure out when/where we’ll be able to keep things going.

The week started off in a familiar, but uncomfortable place with Yoga.  Just when I think I’m getting better at it, I look up to see I’m doing things wrong.  Or, I find it hard to do all of the moves.  But since I get two passes at it this week (joy) I may just do a little better.  On a positive note, I was able to do some things that I previously hadn’t so there was a small sense of accomplishment.

On to Tuesday and the introduction of Core Synergistics.  WHT?  I have to admit, I struggled to get through this workout this morning.  More to do with trying to follow what they were doing and what Tony was asking.  Thank God for the remote because I was definitely using that rewind button today.  I made it through, but skipped over the bonus round.  Not sure how well I did.  Guess I’ll know in the morning if there is any discomfort.  But, I’m glad it’s over.  And the book wasn’t lying when they wrote that despite this being “recovery week” there was little recovery happening.

Have been making some changes to the diet to tweak the amount of protein I’m getting.  We started Shakeology and have the Whey Protein powder as well.  I’m hoping those changes help with the energy level during the workouts – and getting started as well.

In terms of weight loss, the number on the scale is a bit disappointing as it really has been hovering around my initial weigh in, but I do notice some changes with my belt and some of my clothes.  I also notice some changes in toning of my body, so I know it’s working and well worth waking up so early.

Next up – Kenpo X.  Hoping for a better workout than I had on Saturday.  Stay tuned.

Update – Wednesday Kenpo X – I brought it!  Felt so much better doing Kenpo today than I had on Saturday.  Was pressed for time having an early morning meeting I had to get to, I was able to pretty much stick to the program without any need for breaks, pauses or rewinds (well, just on the Star move – and I still look goofy doing that one).

Back to Yoga in the morning.  Feeling a little soreness (the good kind) from yesterday’s workout but it’s amazing how your body doesn’t hurt when you’re working out the next day.

Update – Got through Yoga, and really enjoyed X Stretch (just what the body needed) before moving back onto Core Synergistics (not as bad the 2nd time around, but I doubt this will become my favorite as Tony notes).  Then finished off the rest week with Yoga.  Really tried to bring it this time and I found myself being able to do “more.”  In addition to getting more of the stretches and balances, I was able to incorporate the push ups between!  Didn’t see that one coming but I decided I felt good enough so why not!

A day of rest and we launch into Phase 2 on Monday!  We took our pics and measurements a few days after we started, so we’re trying to stretch out our pics/measurements to a true 30 day mark.  Stay tuned and will post some pics.

I woke up as I would any other Monday and prepared to bring it.  Mentally I noted that today was the beginning of my last week with weights in Phase 1, so it was time to up the ante and really push myself.  And push I did.  But this time, I opted for some chocolate milk before and after the workout that I believe gave me that extra push that I needed.  Will be doing that again!

Following a heavy workout I decided being sweaty was a great excuse to get outside, mow the lawn and clean up the garage.  I kept things moving and felt like the energy was flowing through my body like it hadn’t in a very long time.

As I mentioned, the neighborhood party was taking place in the afternoon, so before heading out, I got down on the floor and hit it with Ab Ripper X.  With it so fresh in my mind, I knew better than to load up my plate with things that I shouldn’t and stayed far away from the cupcakes and other baked goodies.

It’s Tuesday, and I won’t lie, this morning was rough.  Really had to drag myself out of bed and get to work on Plyometrics.  It was a tough routine and I pushed through it, but wasn’t happy about it.  Felt like I was showing afterwards, getting dressed and my first few hours of work in a complete sleepy daze, but I’m feeling better now that it’s after noon.

More to come tomorrow.  Oh, and we’ve been really looking at the Abs Diet, so hopefully I’ll start dropping some excess pounds.

The workouts were the same (changed out bands instead of pull up bar and introduced more weights) but the soreness that I had the week prior didn’t come back.  I also found I was able to do more – more reps, more weight and less time in between.

Was especially proud of completing the full Plyometrics DVD in one sitting!  And even Yoga seemed less daunting.

Working out with my wife, although she works out at night and I choose mornings was a great motivator to keep moving.  Still not seeing weight drops on the scale, and clothes aren’t fitting any different, but as Tony says, Rome wasn’t built in one day.  One thing I am starting to feel is somewhat more energy.  Even hit the pool twice over the long weekend and swam around.  Also feeling my muscles starting to wake up and take some shape – not as flabby as they had been!

Will be making a few tweaks moving forward – changes to diet to follow the Abs Diet plan recommended by my neighbor, more protein including Whey Protein powder and pre- and post-workout drinks to keep fueled.

Look out week three – I’m raising the stakes and increasing weights and mentally getting ready to push harder.  Despite what happens, I’m proud to have committed and showed up each day for two full weeks!  I’m getting inspired to share my story and success with others and here I am!

Monday -Chest & Back

This workout was nothing to laugh at.  After several minutes of Lots of pulls and pushes.  Not for the weak at heart.  Up for pull ups and down for push ups – lots of different and challenging angles.

Was I really doing this?  I guess I was.  Sure, I knew that I wasn’t going to jump into this and start grunting and tossing weights back like it was no big thing, and like I’d seen too many times at the local gyms.  I knew better than to try to overachieve and hurt myself.  Despite taking it easy, I was proud that I had taken the first step and committed.  And before I knew any better, I was cooling down and shutting off the DVD player and TV and hitting the shower.  I did it and live to tell about it.

Now, because I was adjusting my morning routine (and finishing up right as my son was waking up), I decided to split my workout up.  Morning full hour.  After work with the Ab Ripper X – that’s a whole other story!

Tuesday – Plyometrics

This is the one I had heard so much about.  The killer of routines.  But, like the day before, I showed up, hit “play” and started moving my body.

Wow, the stories were not over exaggerated at all.  This one was not for the faint of heart.  But I chose to end the routine early (looking back I was so close) and switch to the Cardio X for some final moves and a cool down.

This was going to hurt over the next few days.

Wednesday – Shoulders and Arms

Made it to the TV in the morning again – this was starting to look good – 3 days in a row, even after taking a beating the day before.  And was I sore – YES.  Was I going to do this – Oh YES!

I find I’m better on the upper body, so I decided to step it up and start getting more serious.  Monday was a light day, and Tuesday was crazy, but I decided to put some more weight into Wednesday – still not trying to hurt myself or burn out, so to some, it may have still looked light.

Despite some hard moves and frequent pausing, I made it through the morning routine.  The day ahead was tough as I literally felt like I had ridden a horse for a week straight.  It was tough walking, but sitting down hurt just as much.

Ab Ripper X in the evening, somewhat modified due to the fact that I still could barely move my legs, but I made it through.

Thursday – Yoga

Was looking forward to a little mental and physical break…but that never happened.  This one is longer than the rest being an hour and one half in one sitting.  Never being a very flexible guy, I was not graceful.  Keeping your head down while trying to peer at the TV to figure out what they were doing was a challenge.  Had to modify some of the moves, but I was determined to push through.  My son found it funny listening to the Ohhms at the end, but I felt proud.

Friday – Legs and Back

Good thing my soreness from Plyometrics started to subside, but that was my feeling before starting.  By the end, there was some soreness – but crazy as it sounds, my body felt better.  I made it through five days of morning routines.  I had the feeling that I could stick with this and really change my life.

Ab Ripper X after work before the after work neighborhood happy hour and I was good to go.  Just one more day before a day of rest.

Saturday – Kenpo X

Good thing my body was figuring out that even if my body felt sore, working through it made it feel better.  This workout used all parts of your body and kept you moving…and sweating!  I opted to sleep in and work out during my son’s nap time which gave me a little more recovery time from Friday’s workout.

I wrapped it up right after he woke up and with a feeling of great accomplishment at having completed a full week, peeled off the sweat drenched clothes and hit the showers.  Sunday, as God had intended, was a day of rest!