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Adding it up: The true cost of P90X

11/05/2010 Guest User 7 Comments

Nichole’s brother is doing that P90X thing. He’d appreciate your support and motivation, so he’s sharing his experience here at Butterscotch Sundae. Which is a pretty funny name for a place to talk about Feeling The Burn and whatnot.

As promised, this is a short post to tell you what supplements I’m putting into my body. I’m doing this for purposes of full disclosure on two points. First, to judge the true cost of the P90X system. Second, to put my P90X vs. cheeseburgers results, whatever they may be, into full perspective.

With respect to the cost point, I’ve now spent:

$70 on the system itself (which includes the dvds and a lot of great literature to help you along — including the diet).

$75 on a pull-up tower from Craigslist.

$110 on a fancy adjustable set of dumbbells.

$40 on yoga mats.

$80 on some rockin’ snap-together exercise flooring for the room I’ve set up as exercise HQ.

An absurd $200 on the supplements highlighted in this post.

So, this has not been nearly as cheap as I thought it would be. I’m a little upset by the overall cost, but if I get results, I guess it will be worth it.
P90X supplements
To the supplements. The two small bottles on the left in the photo above are fish oil tablets and mutlivitamins. From left to right after that, we have 100% Casien Protein Powder; 100% Whey Protein Powder; NoExplode Pre-Workout Drink Powder; Dark Matter Post-Workout Drink Powder; Protein Bars. The idea is that I will drink a protein shake for breakfast and another after my workout, a protein bar as a snack during the day, and pre- and post-workout drinks as you would imagine.

I’ve had one of everything so far, and I can tell you that the protein shakes are delicious, the NoExplode tastes like sour patch kids and has the effect of 10 red bulls, the Dark Matter has the consistency of motor oil and tastes horrible, and the protein bars are so good I could eat them for ever meal. I’ve never taken anything like any of this stuff, so it will be interesting to see the effect.

Family matters

Perry Mason and the case of getting older and wider

11/04/2010 Guest User 3 Comments

I’m turning Thursdays over to my brother, who’s sharing his experience with P90X with us (also: he’ll have a bonus post tomorrow). I have to say: It’s breaking my heart to hear how hard he’s being on himself. Also: The “and the case of” titles are wearing on me. We may have seen the last of them. -N

On Sunday, I put in disk 1 of P90X. Hopefully, 90 days later — That’s January 29, 2011. -N — I’ll be able to tell you that (1) I made it through; and (2) I’m better for it. But first, you’ll need to know where I am now. Here are my stats:

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Height: 5’8″

Weight: 172.2 pounds.

The internet tells me this is consistent with an “overweight” man of my age and height.

Body Fat: 25.9 percent.

The internet tells me this is consistent with an “obese” man of my age and height.

Chest: 38 inches

Waist: 37 inches

Hips: 41.5 inches

Thighs: 20.5 inches each

R. Bicep: 13.5 inches

L. Bicep: 13 inches

In addition to these physical composition statistics, step one of P90x is actually to take a physical test to ensure you are physically fit enough to actually do the videos. I passed (barely). Here are my results:

Pullups: 1.75

Vert. Leap: 12 inches

Push ups: 29

Toe Touch: 0 inches.

The Toe Touch exercise requires that you sit on the floor with your legs in front of you, bending at the waist and reaching for your toes. Without bending your knees, you are to measure how far past (or short of) your toes you can reach. I could touch my toes but nothing further.

Wall Squat: 1 minute, 18 seconds.

Think: Back against the wall and knees bent such that you are sitting in a chair with no seat. Hold that pose for as long as you can. You can slide your bum down the wall as you get tired, but time stops as soon as it touches the ground.

20-pound curls: 30.

20-pound weights in each arm, curling simultaneously (not alternating). Women get to use 8 lb. weights.

In-Outs: 42.

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Lean back slightly, and place your arms at your sides just behind your bum for support. Lift your legs a few inches off the ground. Pull your knees into your chest as far as you can, and then extend your legs back out straigh, keeping them off the ground. You’ve completed one in-out. How many can you do without your legs touching the ground?

Finally, I was required to take my resting heart rate, do 1.5 minutes of jumping jacks at a quick pace immediately followed by 30 seconds at as quick a pace as I could manage, and then check my heart rate immediately, 1 minute thereafter, 2 minutes thereafter, 3 minutes thereafter and 4 minutes thereafter. Note that I was truly barely able to complete this exercise alive. Here were the results:

Resting: 74 bpm.

Immediately Post-Jacks: 160 bpm.

1 min. Post-Jacks: 128 bpm.

2 min. Post-Jacks: 115 bpm.

3 min Post-Jacks: 108 bpm.

4 min Post-Jacks: 102 bpm.

So there you have it: The state of me, pre-P90X. I am ashamed. To give you some perspective, 10 years ago I was a wrestler in high school. I weighed 135 pounds and had a body fat of about 8 percent. So, I’ve managed to pack on 40 pounds in 10 years (4 pounds per year) and increase my bodyfat over 300 percent. If I don’t start doing something about this, by the time I’m 40, I’ll weigh 224 pounds, and I’ll have a bodyfat percentage of a gazillion. This is not unfounded for my family, so it’s time to get it in gear.

Family matters

Perry Mason and the case of the get-fit infomercial

10/28/2010 Guest User 3 Comments

So my brother? For whom I made a kickin’ infographic? He’s bailing on his cheeseburger reviews. But he’ll probably still be writing here. Read on to learn why. -N

Houston, we have a problem.

After just one (awesome) Cheeseburger de Jure post, the widely loved single-post series must be shut down. Why? Because I’ve made a purchase from an infomercial.

A few months ago, some friends of mine were in town. They were looking particularly slender. And they were all abuzz about P90X, which they had been doing for 30 of the 90-day routine. I talked with one of them a few P90X vs. cheeseburgers days ago to find out whether he finished it up. He had not, but was trying to make himself start again. Apparently, he thought what he really needed was a partner with whom to do the program. He thought that I should buy the program and do it with him — long-distance style. I promptly responded with a girlish giggle brought on by the idea of me watching Tony Horton tell me to do somethinganomics while I sat on my couch eating a cheeseburger. “No,” I told my friend. “That just won’t do.”

But then, divinity struck. I was out of town on business and couldn’t sleep. I turned on the hotel television, and I’ll let you guess what was on. Yep -– Ol’ Tony. He had all kinds of before and after pictures and videos. They once were chubby, and now they are not kind of stuff. I giggled again. But I like cheeseburgers, so I needed independent verification. I turned to the Amazon Ratings. I was shocked to find that nearly 70 percent were giving P90X a five-star rating. What about the utubes? Filled with home “before and after” success stories. So I went to the ebays -– where I bought the program for $70, new in box.

So what does this mean for you, Cheeseburger de Jure readers? Well, it means that I hope you are more excited about my lack of progress on P90X than my burger exploits, because that’s what I’m going to be talking about on a weekly basis. And it also means that you have officially become my support team. I’d love for you to yell at me when I tell you I’ve left the path of the diet or missed workouts. I can assure you, I do not have the self control to finish this thing on my own. Plus, there is something in it for you. Admit it: You’ve watched the informercial at least once. You’ve wondered if it works. Well, I’ll be your guinea pig (emphasis on “pig”). If it works for me, you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it will work for you. If it doesn’t work for me and you still want to try it, I’ll sell you my system for the low-low price of $70.

Because I’m chubby, I’m not posting before pictures unless and until I’m done with the system and I’ve lost a metric ton, at which point I’ll also post during and after pictures. [Note: He isn’t that chubby, and I totally posted a before picture for him. -N] But I will post my stats — weight, measurements and body fat percentage — on a weekly basis so that you have something to look forward to. (If this is really what you end up looking forward to, you really need to find a hobby.) Look for my “Pre-P90X Post” next Thursday.

Chubby? No. About to get leveled by a nephew? Absolutely.

As they say in the BudLight commercials, here we go.