Family Dinners

I attended a family event yesterday. My cousin completed graduate school, and we went to a restaurant to celebrate. The appetizers included: fired mozzarella, fried calamari, and fried eggplant rollatini. As I was looking at them, I heard a voice in my head say, "FRIED food is how you put on weight in the FIRST PLACE! Do YOU want to go back to that again!?!?!" I ate one calamari ring. Yeah, just ONE. My parents started asking me, "What's the matter, aren't you hungry?" "Are you feeling alright?" "Is there something wrong?" I avoided the explanation, as I've said it TOO many times. I've just been extremely conscious of my meals and what I eat. Instead, I ate what I was comfortable with eating, and I did not over eat. I refused to. My meals included a caesar salad, and chicken francaise as a main dish - and I drank a LOT of water.

Afterwards, people started saying, "I'm sooo full" or "I shouldn't have eaten that much bread..." Me? I did not overeat, at all. If I can do this once, I can do this consistently to make it an instinctive habit.

This week, I'd like to make a quick shout out to fellow Beachbody coach and friend, DeeDeeFit - in regards to our fitness bet, that's day TWO in the books! When you're ready to bring it, say the word, I'm still going!!! I know there are many more days ahead in this challenge, but I'm anxious to get there and take it to the next level!! BRING IT, my friend!

Until next time.... have a fantastic holiday weekend everyone!!!

Power 90, week 1.. with a twist

I did better with the cardio workouts this week, but I pushed it in the weight workouts towards the end of the week, and I was happy about that.

I initiated a challenge with a fellow Beachbody Coach. Debbie, aka DeeDeeFit, wants to get into shape for summer. So do I. We're both experiencing different difficulties and setbacks. I said, "Debbie, I challenge you to a workout challenge - best results by the end of the summer." She said (and I quote), "YOU ARE SO ON!"

This challenge is NOT against each other, it's against ourselves. Debbie and I are friends, and fellow coaches. This challenge will keep us accountable for our workouts and meals because know that we have SOMEONE ELSE watching us.

Speaker Anthony Robbins talks about deadlines, explaining how deadlings can influence our behavior.
Well, now I have a deadline.

Debbie is doing Chalean Extreme (which is 120 days).
120 days for me would be - Power 90 (90 days), and the first 30 days of P90X.

I also posted this challenge on the message boards, so this is NOW public. People are aware of it.

Keep checking back, I'll post updates.
It's BRING IT time.

Insanity - the workouts

Beachbody trainer, ShaunT, has created a new program coming out in July 2009 called INSANITY. ShaunT's Beachbody exercise programs have been dance-based, but this new program is NOT. At the Beachbody coach summit in March 2009, I saw a video preview of Insanity. In addition, during a workout with all of the Beachbody trainers at Universal Studios, ShaunT did 10 minutes of Insanity - and let me tell you, a LOT of people were screaming from it.

In my mail on Friday, I received this DVD from Beachbody - Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit. My initial thought was after doing three rounds of P90X, I THOUGHT (optimal word here) I would be ready to do this.

NOPE! Not at all! The workout was intense - I didn't even last the 10 minute warmup before my heartrate felt like it was beating about 170bpm. From experience, when it DOES beat like that, I'm working hard and I eventually have to take it easy.

I must say that I am NOT ready for this program.... yet. This is why I'm continually progressing through through the various programs - striving for the NEXT level.

Until next time.

Fitness Progress (video)

Alright. I've worked on this video for a few weeks.

This is a video story of what I've accomplishes so far with my health and fitness. As I continue progressing in the workouts, I will post a new one to show how I've progressed from the beginning of the program to that point of posting the video.

Check back here at the blog for more video updates!

Back To The Beginning

Alright. Time to fess up. Work has become a little more stressful than expected, and I wasn't getting the proper nutrition or sleep that I had hoped for. Instead of beating myself up by it (I'm not that type of person), I'm going to back to square one, and bring it from the beginning of the Power 90 schedule.

No kettlebells until later on. Now, it's time for old school workouts. Just bringing it, and just getting the job done.

Saturday morning, I worked out to almost all of Beachbody's "The Fountain of Youth" from Tony Horton's One On One series. I've wanted to try this for weeks, it was a good sweat, and i enjoyed it a lot.

Out with the old routine (the "excuses"), in with the new one.
New beginning, new photos, new measurements. I'll post those tomorrow.

See ya then.

Power 90 - phase one summary

As of today, phase one (or days 1-28) of Power 90 has been completed. There were 28 workouts scheduled over four weeks. I completed 60% of them.

In 28 days, I lost inches on my neck, shoulders, chest, thighs, and calves. I gained muscle on my arms. I lost a total of 0.625” on my entire body. In addition, I gained a pound.

There were many sidetracks and setbacks during the past four weeks, but that is what makes this a challenge because situations occur (and yes, they will occur) to set you back from your goal. Why? I expected that because of the UNKNOWN factor. The lesson learned is – stick to it! Because by sticking to it and doing everything correctly (exercise, nutrition, supplementation, hydration) you CAN and WILL accomplish your goal. You may even surpass it.

That alone is worth working for.

Power 90 week 4

I still had some difficulties at work this week, but I refused to let that prevent me from working out. instead, I saw that as a challenge. By the end of the wek, this difficulty was managed, and working out helped reduce my stress from work.

I did alright with my eating this week. I thought more long-term instead of the “right here right now” principle. I ate pretty clean. But just as my workouts, I knew that this is ONLY phase one, with a lot more ahead of me.

In increased the dumbbell weights from 22.5pounds to 25 pounds, and I felt it. This meant that the heavier weights are working and I’m working the muscles. I was very happy about that.

I videotaped several workouts this week and they are included in the video for phase one that I’m working on.

Onward...

Power 90 week 3

Job-related stress can get to ya. We all know it, we all go through it. The question is how do we handle it?

This week, the job stresses got to me. I am going back to my old job in the company from two years ago, and there have been many changes made. During the past two months, I have been learning the new processes of the job, which is both time consuming and detailed. It has been stressful. Six months ago, I stopped taking aspirin and pain medication because I did not want to rely on it anymore. I wouldn’t take it because I felt as though it was not necessary anymore because I viewed aspirin as“escapism from reality”. That changed on Wednesday. My head was pounding, and I had some Tylenol. It alleviated the pain. Hey, ya do what ya gotta do and you go on.

In light of the stress, I refused to become a stress eater this week. I was extremely careful of what I was eating and drinking. Any coffee that I chose to have, I got a cup of decaf coffee. I know, there’s a little bit of caffeine in it, but I just didn’t want a regular cup to get me jolted and running around like a chicken without a head.

Briefly, due to the stress, I slept more at night, and I did not exercise this week.
I know, not a good thing.
Still, it happened, and I am not beating myself up about it. It is a lesson on how to manage stress and frustration – sweat it all away.

On a positive note, I bought TWO 18-pound KBs. Why two? One for each hand while doing Power 90's "Ab Ripper 100". Yes, it intensifies the abdominal workout because you are working your abs harder – just as when you increase the weights during a weight workout. In order to achieve extreme results, we need to do extreme things.

Fortunately, I am confident that this week’s extreme-ness of Power 90 will benefit me in future workouts. I will build up the strength in my arms to compensate for the heavier KBs. Who knows, I will probably increase the KBs again before starting P90X.

In addition to the KBs, I am increasing the weights from 22.5pounds to 25pounds for week four of Power 90. This will definitely be a challenge, and I am looking forward to it.

After completing week four next Sunday, I will post new photos and measurements. In addition, I will compare them to my day one measurements of Power 90.

Until next week…

Shakeology

If anyone wanted to know more about Shakeology, lemme tell you this. It comes in two flavors - chocolate and greenberry. I've tried both at the Beachbody Coach Summit this year. Both are very good. I've recently ordered the greenberry, and plan on kicking it up a notch by adding stuff.

For now, here's a video on Shakeology to learn more about it:


If anyone wants it, let me know. :)

Supplementation

About a year ago, I started to utilize the different workout supplements that Beachbody offers. Their wide range of supplements caught my attention, although I wasn’t sure where to begin or what to try.

I initially started with the Core Nutrition Pack, which consists of Cal-Mag, Omega-3, and an Activit Multivitamin. I continued to use this for several months, and then changed the supplements. Thoughout the past year, I continued to change my supplements every few months whenever I changed programs. When I started working out with P90X, I started using the P90X Peak Health Formula, P90X Recovery Formula. In addition, I was also using Beachbody’s Joint Support Formula.

Now, I’m working out with Power 90. But I still take the P90X Peak Health Formula, Recovery Formula, and Joint Support.

Recently, my girlfriend ordered Beachbody’s newest supplement – Shakeology. We’ll both be using that. After speaking with different people at Beachbody, I would be able to take the Peak Health Formula WITH Shakeology, and that was a big bonus for me. The reason is so I could continue my current supplements with the Shakeology.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Easter Sunday

Another holiday with a history of eating, drinking, and overall binging of food. UGH!

Well, not this time.

Since I expected this, I originally planned to pace myself throughout the day. However, once the meal started, I only had one plate of food with a “taste” of everything. Since there were thirty relatives for Easter Sunday, this holiday was more about family celebrating their time together than overeat. I did not make a second trip for food. However, I did have a “taste” of cheesecake dessert – a sliver (the kind you can see through). It was just enough to satisfy my taste buds. At the end of the night, I went home satisfied, which was what I was hoping for on Easter Sunday.

Power 90 - week 2

I continued using the 22.5pound weights during the “sculpt” workouts this week. I focused on form and technique during the workouts and I also used the pushup bars to protect my wrist. During Ab Ripper 100 with the KBs, I felt it in my abs. It hurt, but I liked it! Gotta buy heavier KBs soon.

My eating has been mostly clean. I’ve slacked a little during the week, but I’m not too worried about it. Stress has a funny way of affecting your eating habits.

Each day, I take several Beachbody supplements: P90X Peak Health Formula, Omega-3, and Joint Support Super Formula. All three are helping me. Between the supplements, eating clean, and the workouts, I’m hoping to develop my entire body within the next 90 days.

Week 2 done. On to week 3.

Power 90 - week 1

On March 23, 2009, I started Power 90 lifting twenty pound weights in the workout, AND using two 10 pound kettleballs during the ab workout. Now some may consider that extreme, but this is JUST the beginning A place to start from and expand upon. With that mindset, I began.

Towards week, I increased the reps in the weight exercises to fifteen reps and I was lifting 22.5 pounds. True, it’s only a 2.5 pound difference, but as the weights increase, a 2.5 pound difference can mean between putting the weights down for a rest or pushing out 1-3 more reps. My abs were hurting by the end of the week, but you know what, I pushed through it. All I thought was "it hurts, which means the abs are working!"

My ultimate goal was to continually progress this way throughout the 90 day program.

Michael French, I cannot thank you enough for introducing the kettleballs into my workout regimen!!! I will increase them throughout the 90 days, and I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Kettleball

After speaking with fellow Beachbody Coach Michael French at the Coach Summit, he told me about how kettleballs enhanced the strength in his core and his arms.

What is a kettleball?

Think of a barbell. A barbell has the handle in the middle and the weight on each side. A kettleball has a handle on the top, and the weight is in the shape of a ball underneath. Hence the term kettleball. Kettleballs can be purchased at any fitness store and there are kettleball DVD workouts and exercises which can be used with the kettleballs. Just as free weights, kettleballs are available in different weights.

This intrigued me, so I bought two 10pound kettleballs. I was open-minded. I wanted to try something new, something to enhance the workout. I had no idea how this would kick things up a HUGE notch.

Why did I buy two? One for each hand.
If I’m doing any ab related exercise in Power 90, I knew that holding one kettleball wouldn’t cut it. So I bought two – one for each hand. This way, it doubles the intensity of the workout because each arm would be working throughout the exercise.

Quick Retrospective

Four years ago, when I was going to the gym, I couldn’t lift more than 10-15 pounds with my arms, BUT when I was doing quad presses I could press 110 pounds. I weighed 145 at the time. What can I say, I ran track growing up. I had more strength in my legs than I ever had in my arms.

When I did Power 90 in 1997, I started with 3 pound weights (no laughing, pleeze). I used that as a starting point and gradually progressed from there. A year and a half later when I finished my 3rd round of P90X, I was lifting 25 pound weights.

I intended on changing what I could lift and what I will be able to lift throughout this program.

Power 90 Measurements 3/28/09

I took my measurements and photos before starting the program. These are my measurements as of 03/28/09:
Neck: 16.0”
Shoulders: 44.0”
L. Bicep: 11.25”
R. Bicep: 11.50”
Chest: 36.25”
Waist: 35.75”
Hips: 34.0”
L. Thigh: 20.50”
R. Thigh: 20.625”
L. Calf: 14.125”
R. Calf: 13.50”
TOTAL: 257.50”
Weight: 154.80 pounds

I will update this blog post with links to the Power 90 starting photo.

Power 90

I started Power 90 in September 2007 and did it for 90 days. I started with three pound weights because I had very little upper body strength. I progressed through the various programs in addition to Power 90 – two rounds of the Power 90 Master Series, and three rounds of P90X. In the last week of P90X, I was lifting 25 pounds.

But I wasn’t satisfied with my achievements.
True, I improved my health statistics. But that was only half the game. Now, I wanted to improve my physical appearance – muscles, abs... the whole thing!

After returning from the Beachbody Dream Extreme Coach Summit, I was determined to eat properly, exercise, and take care of myself – and nothing was going to prevent me from doing so. Eating properly and getting enough sleep was the easy part. After a week of getting enough rest, I scheduled my workouts to start working out again.

A week passes…
I woke up on Sunday morning and said “That’s it, game’s over, I gotta do this”. I signed into WOWY, Beachbody’s online gym to track your workouts, and scheduled workouts for Power 90.

Sunday, March 29, 2009, I started Power 90. I went back to the basics. Although I progressed through various programs, I never truly appreciated the simplicity of Power 90. I do now!!!

Although it’s back to the basics, THIS is a new beginning.

In order to remain accountable for my eating, supplements, and my workouts, I will be blogging about my experiences with Power 90 and how I am progressing.

What I Learned At The Summit

What I took away from the summit sessions is that you need to have “purpose”, you need to have “goals”, you need to have a “plan” of what you want to achieve. You need to “see” or envision what you what, not just in yourself, but for your Beachbody coaching business as well. I dreamed big, or extremely.

My dream is simple – achieve all of my fitness goals, be a better coach, return to the 2010 coach summit as a diamond (or higher) coach. I remembered how the coaches have described the coaching system with Beachbody as “people helping people”. As I remembered this, I started brainstorming. Help, support, giving time, giving support, utilizing energy for workouts, eating well… everything that I’ve experienced as a Beachbody member has come to fruition at this summit. Then two words hit me – give back. I thought ‘to whom?’

Then I remembered Beachbody’s work with the American Diabetes Association, and how together they developed the program Project You: Type 2 for people with type two diabetes. That is when I made the connection. I looked at my wrist to see my Medic Alert bracelet, which is for my anti-seizure disorder (epilepsy).
Epilepsy.
What is the one event each year in Washington, DC to support people with epilepsy? The National Epilepsy Foundation’s Walk For Epilepsy on the National Mall. I knew THAT is how I could give back.

I am writing another blog about this because that is how passionate I am about it.

Then I developed a plan of action. Establish and develop a team of Beachbody coaches, and members to support this cause – fighting epilepsy, and searching for a cure. Actor Greg Grunberg is the chairman for the National Walk For Epilepsy. He has done this for three years.

I believe that one person can make a difference no matter how small or great. What matters is you DID it, and that you gave it your best shot, striving towards that goal.

2009 Beachbody Dream Extreme Coach Summit

The last time I visited California was in 1998 for a ten-day vacation.
This time, it was different. This time, my girlfriend and I went to California as Beachbody Coaches to attend Beachbody’s Dream Extreme Coach Summit. This was very special for me. I have been anticipating this event. We flew from Newark, NJ to Los Angeles, California. As we arrived at the hotel, we found many coaches chatting at the bar. Although I only knew a few coaches, this weekend was an opportunity to meet and learn from many people. It was great to meet the coaches in person and “see” how they have transformed themselves through the workouts. This was very inspiring. I would have chatted all night with them to learn from them, however, I knew that the next morning would start very early, so we said our ‘good nights’ and went to sleep.

Since I expected Friday to be an all-day event, and to we woke up early to have breakfast at the hotel. I ate healthy - a plain mini muffin, a lot of fruit, some vegetables, and cold salmon.

We are members or the TeamBeachbody coaching team, Team Genesis, and Friday was an all-day team-building event. I learned much more about the coaching business and ways to expand your coaching business from several successful Beachbody coaches. The successful coaches and guest speakers shared their experiences on how they became successful.

TeamBeachbody coaches are members of the Team Beachbody community who have decided to become coaches to help other members achieve and surpass their fitness goals and dreams. We are not just coaches; we are also customers and members of the Beachbody community. We started as everyone else did - searching for answers, achieving goals, striving to achieve our maximum potential. Now, we are able to give back and help others do the same by coaching them and helping them achieve their goals.

While walking around the hotel, we met Beachbody coaches Yamille Hurst and Earl “Wink” Broughfman who are also members of TeamGenesis. They won in Beachbody’s Million Dollar Body Game for their amazing transformational stories. Yami won $10K for her transformation story in October 2008, and Earl won the grand prize of the Million Dollar Body game last year - $250,000!!! They are great people, and it was great to meet them in person.

That night, we worked out to ShaunT. His workout room was playing dance/club music, and ShaunT was in the front of the room motivating everyone to workout and “do it”. Although my girlfriend and I were in the back of the room, ShaunT walked around the room, motivating people throughout the workout. I worked harder, pushed more, sweat a lot, and I loved it. At the end of the workout, the intensity of the workout had every sweating – and everyone loved that! After using ShaunT’s workouts at home (Hip Hop Abs, Dance Party Series, Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Results, and Rockin’ Body) it was great to workout with him in person. After the workout, everyone is taking photos with Shaun and Tania Ante (who is in each of ShaunT’s workouts). When I had an opportunity, I thanked ShaunT for the intense workout and said, “It’s great to FINALLY meet you”.

That night, TeamGenesis hosted a fun 70s party with healthy food to nosh on, which was very helpful after the workout. I did not dress-up for the party, but many folks did. Gotta give them a lot of credit for that!
I met many coaches and that was very special. Connecting with new people is always a good thing.

Saturday morning, Beachbody coaches would be working out at Universal Studios with ALL of the trainers. As we were waiting in the lobby, we met Debbie Siebers, who was both very friendly and very helpful. J Thank you Debbie!!! We arrived at Universal and walked over to CityWalk. People stretched and prepared for the workout. Beachbody trainers Gillian & Teigh, ShaunT, Tania Ante, Debbie Siebers, Chalene Johnson, and Tony Horton worked the crowd hard throughout the workout. At the completion, everyone was sweating. Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler came out afterwards to congratulate everyone, saying that they did a great job on the workouts. Afterwards, everyone returned to the hotel, and cleaned up in preparation for the Saturday morning’s Dream Extreme Summit sessions.

Everyone returned to the hotel. An elevator at the hotel was not working (since we arrived on Thursday). Everyone piled into the maintenance/service elevator around the corner. As we are waiting in the elevator, Beachbody trainer Tony Horton walks into the elevator smiling and saying, “Hey what are all of you doing in my elevator?” J We returned to our rooms (to clean up from the workout). Then, the morning and afternoon sessions, so the Dream Extreme Summit could begin.

Beachbody President Jonathon Congdon and CEO Carl Daikeler congratulated everyone for their achievements and provided motivational comments to the crowd. Throughout the course of the day, we heard from many of Beachbody’s top coaches, who explained their success and how they “did it” - what it meant for them to become top coaches, and how we had the opportunity to do the same as well. We also had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers Larry Zimmer and Les Brown, who provided information and inspiration to everyone, so we can each build our coaching businesses.

Beachbody also announced NEW programs to be released in 2009.They included: Brazilian Butt Lift, Shakeology (the workouts associated with the drink, with workouts by Tania Ante), Turbo Fire (by Chalene Johnson), Insanity (by ShaunT), and new workouts from Tony Horton’s One On One series. The newest supplement is Shakeology. This is a meal in a drink, literally. Shakeology has over 70 vitamins and nutrients and comes in two flavors – chocolate and greenberry. I tried both. They mixed the greenberry flavor with orange juice, and they mixed the chocolate flavor with peanut butter – both versions were fantastic! Now, the ingredients of Shakeology are incredible. It has over SEVENTY, yes 70, different vitamins in that drink. So it is a meal in itself! Gotta tell ya, I went to the summit fighting a COLD. Beachbody had samples of the different Shakeology flavors on different tables. After doing five shots of Shakeology A DAY, the cold was GONE by Saturday night…for the main event.

The main event on Saturday night of Beachbody’s Dream Extreme Summit was held at the Globe Theatre in Universal Studios, Hollywood – the Top Coach Celebration, and the 2008 Million Dollar Body Game Grand Prize Drawing. After a light cocktail hour and speaking with different coaches and trainers, the event began. This is the moment, THIS is when people are recognized for their achievements and awarded for their accomplishments. Beachbody’s 2008 Top Coaches were brought on stage. We also met the eight finalists of the Million Dollar Body Game. Six of whom would receive $50,000 and two people (one man, one woman) would walk away with $250,000. After watching videos of each of the eight finalists, Carl and Jonathon brought each finalist on stage and interviewed them. After the interviews, they announced the winners of the 2008 Million Dollar Body Game – Dallas Carter of Mililani, Hawaii, and Kristy McLean of Foothill Ranch, California – each walked away with $250,000!!!

So now the goal for 2009 is this – what is YOUR why? Why do YOU want to get in shape? Which program will you use?

My question to those of you reading this is, how can I help you achieve YOUR goals and dreams? Feel free to contact me, and/or ask any questions you want to know. I look forward to working with ALL of you!
--James

This Is Just The Beginning

I was a skinny kid growing up. I was active, even though I did not play any sports. However, that changed when I got to college. I ate whatever I wanted to, which was usually fatty or fried foods, did not exercise, and I started gaining weight. This continued after college as well, and I continued to gain weight. My health suffered.

Pre-college (1988), I was a 30" waist, 120 pounds.
Post-college (1995), I had a 33" waist, 150 pounds.
After graduating college, I continued eating unhealthy foods, and the pounds continued to come on.

In 2007, someone I knew had a collection of fitness videos from a company named Beachbody. Power 90, Yoga Booty Ballet, Slim In 6, Power Half Hour, Turbo Jam, Slim Series, Yoga Booty Ballet Master Series... I was impressed, and asked if I could borrow Hip Hop Abs. I tried the different workouts of Hip Hop Abs for two weeks.

On July 1, 2007, I officially began my fitness journey. I weighed 176 pounds and had a 39" waist. In addition, after a visit to my doctor, my diagnosis was:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol (319 total to be exact)

I worked out to Hip Hop Abs every day. I enjoyed the program so much; I bought the next level from Beachbody called "Hop Hop Abs Ultimate Results, Level 2". After completing Hip Hop Abs, I began Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Results. Before completing Ultimate Results, I wanted to kick things up to another level by using a different workout. I borrowed Power 90.

Since I enjoyed Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Results, I worked out to that AND Power 90.

Hip Hop Abs is a 30-day program. Power 90 is a 90-day program.
During those first 30 days, I worked out to Power 90 AND Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Results. When I hit day 31, I started experimenting with other Beachbody programs, mixing them with the Power 90 workout. As I worked out to Power 90, I mixed in Slim in 6, Hip Hop Abs, Power Half Hour, Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Results, and a stretching program titled Ho' Ala Ke Kino (which stands for Awaken The Body.

During this time, I visited my doctor, and he checked my cholesterol again. The result - 253 points. After working out consistently for almost three months, I dropped my total cholesterol 63 points. Even though it sounded good, I heard a voice in my head say "that's not good enough". Why? Because I knew, I could do better than that.

I saw a Beachbody advertisement for their program "P90X", which was an extreme version of Power 90 along with many other types of workouts. Karate, yoga, stretching, core work, ab work... I knew that I was not ready for it yet, but wanted something more than just Power 90. Luckily, Beachbody had a program titled Power 90 Master Series was prepared me for P90X. I did two rounds of it - Standard, and Lean. During the Power 90 Master Series, I dropped some weight and some inches, which was very positive. Many people on Beachbody's message boards told me how many moves from the Master Series are in P90X. I felt confident about that. I believed that after doing the Power 90 Master Series for six months, I was familiar with the moves used in P90X, and thought I would be able to handle it...
NOPE.

As a side note, I contacted the CEO of Beachbody on my MySpace account, explaining to him about my Beachbody experience and my medical history. I have epilepsy, controlled through an anti-seizure medication, and I have been able to live a seizure free life for over ten years. I am very comfortable about discussing it because my epilepsy is a part of me.
Epilepsy is part of who I am, but it is not just who I am as a person.

The CEO suggested that I send a message to Beachbody's news team - Beachbody Network News (BNN). I did. Several days later, a representative from BNN contacted me, saying that they wanted to do a story on me. Two weeks later, BNN came out to my place to film my story. After they left, I continued working out with the Power 90 Master Series. The weekend that I was going to begin P90X, the story aired on BNN.

That Sunday, I began P90X Classic. For anyone reading this that is unfamiliar with P90X, P90X is a workout program created by TeamBeachbody with 12 different videos, which cover weight workouts, cardio workouts, stretching, yoga, and abs. After studying it, I wondered, "which one should I start with?" I chose to do the three P90X schedules in this order:
P90X Classic, P90X Lean, P90X Doubles

In retrospect, a better approach would have been: Lean, Classic, and Doubles. Well, I learned for the next time. :)

P90X Classic pushed and pulled me. There were moments where I brought it and moments when I backed off. After week 13, I felt like I needed a break - but I did not take one because I started P90X Lean. By this point, I was used to drinking about 60 oz of water a day.

Around this time, I had my quarterly doctor visit. Fortunately, my results were good - my epilepsy meds were in check, and they were in the correct levels. My cholesterol was around 232. Once again, that voice in my head said "not good enough, push harder". This time, I changed it up.

Halfway through P90X Lean, I thought, "Should I kick this up a notch in Doubles?" I approached my girlfriend, and borrowed her Turbo Jam videos. The first month of P90X Doubles, I was also doing Turbo Jam. Turbo Jam was the "starting workout" and then I would go into the P90X workout. It kicked things up, it challenged me, and I liked it!

Since I liked the Turbo Jam workouts, I purchased "Turbo Jam Fat Burning Elite" from Beachbody. I mixed that in there as well.

When I was in stage 2 of P90X Doubles (cardio workout + weight workout), I had the quarterly doctor visit - and this visit blew my mind!!! My doctor checked my vitals, listening to the heartbeat on my left arm and made a puzzled face. He started shaking his head and said, "This can't be right", and went over to my right arm and started listening to the pulse. He took off the stethoscope and said, "I don't know what's the matter with this thing." I'm like, "Hang on a second". (I was wearing a heart rate monitor on my left wrist)> I checked it, and it read 72 bpm. I read that to my doctor, and without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, "Stop taking the heart medication, you don't need it anymore."

YES!!!!

In addition, my doctor also did some blood work to check on my cholesterol level, and THAT blew my mind even more than the blood pressure.

Now, my cholesterol has had its difficulties over the years. As an adoptee, I do not have any family or medical history to go on. I have always viewed my history as ME. I have had a high cholesterol since 1990 (age 20), and it has progressively gone up and down over the years depending on my physical activity or my cholesterol medication. On a visit to my doctor in December 2008, my cholesterol reached an all time low - 156 points!! This was a HUGE accomplishment, considering that two years earlier, my cholesterol was 319. This is a 163 point drop in cholesterol over two years!

As I continued P90X doubles, I remembered that the Beachbody Coach Summit was coming up in March 2009. I scheduled workouts with two Beachbody trainers, and started using their workouts in preparation for the coach summit (as you will never know what they would do). I admit I went "off the reservation" and schedule for P90X, to prepare for the summit. I did that because I chose to. I needed to refresh my memory for many of the workouts. I practiced, I did the workouts, and I am confident that I will do well - in either workout. My girlfriend is also a Beachbody coach, so we are both excited to attend. This trip is both business and personal. Business - as we will learn from other Beachbody coaches; and personal - as we will be able to meet many coaches we have spoken to on the message boards for a very long time.

Once we return from the coach summit, I have already set-up a plan on "what do I want to do next". As someone (probably from the movies) once said, "You have to go back to the start, and go forward to do it again". Instead of taking a cardio approach and mixing in weight workouts along the way, I'm doing something different.

I am going to start with Power 90. Beachbody's original program by trainer Tony Horton, which was the basis for the Power 90 Master Series, P90X, and P90X+, and One On One. Take what's learned and used in ONE program, and apply it to the NEXT, as you continue in your fitness journey.

This is the order that I will be doing them:
1. Power 90
2. Power 90 Master Series (standard program)
3. P90X (classic program)
4. P90X+ (classic program)
5. Creation

#5, the "Creation", was designed by fellow Beachbody coaches Joey Petri and Mark Briggs. This utilizes workouts from P90X, P90X+, and One On One. The reason why I am doing this one LAST is that everything that I am doing will lead up to it. The exercises learned in P90 (or Power 90) will be used in the Power 90 Master Series, and they'll be used in P90X... and since I haven't tried P90X Plus or One On One (which is where the workouts from Creation are from), I'll just find out about them when I get there.

On March 16, 2009, I am going back to the beginning with Power 90. Then as I complete each program, I will progress to the next stage, and see where that takes me. If my calculations are correct, the order of workouts will take me to the Beachbody Coach Summit 2010. I have a lot of work to do in the next year, but I WANT to do it.

I will be back here from time to time to blog and fill you in on my progress, as this is just the beginning...