Team Beachbody Guest

Beachbody has been my “gateway drug” to smart fitness.
In November 2001 I discovered P90 and that program helped me lose 60 lbs. After finding a new level of energy I hadn’t had in a long time, I did Slim Series and P90X. With P90X I found that I enjoyed weight lifting for strength and mass and so I went to a local gym and in time, could bench press 340, squat 435 and deadlift 485. The downside to my eating more to build strength and mass was that I wasn’t smart about it and put on extra weight. In time, I had managed to eat myself to 254lbs with a cholesterol level of 280. My quest for strength and mass had gone wrong and although I was very strong, I was overfat and my cardio was nil. I knew better. It was 2006 and I needed to face reality of working out for my health; I could be an action figure in my next life.
Most people would panic or get depressed but I knew exactly what I needed to do; I took out P90X, buried under 2 years of dust. I knew that I was in no shape to tackle the intense demands of the X so I took out P90 and started there. I did P90 for a couple months and added Power Half Hour. I could see that the high reps were a shock to my system and I lost 15lbs and felt ready for the X again. I kept at it and I quickly was seeing progress when I did an ill-advised thing: I bought a step aerobics video at a yard sale and tried it without a harness. I severely strained my calf and it took 2 months of physical therapy before I could attempt any meaningful cardio. I did the best I could do in continuing my round of P90X but it just isn’t The X without Plyometrics. Even with the injury, I had lost 10 more pounds and added a lot more upper body musculature in those 90days.
In June and July, I decided to try some new things and, with the urging of my online friend Tamfish, tried her Turbo Jam DVDs for cardio. When I found that I liked them I then knew I would like, and bought, Hip Hop Abs. These workouts were definitely a big change for me and that change brought another 15 pound weight loss and enough conditioning to get my previously injured calf back into shape to do Plyometrics. I started a 2nd round of P90X at the end of July, starting at full strength, planning my meals by the P90X Nutrition guide and went through a serious transformation. What’s funny is that I lost another 15lbs in the first 60 days and then, in the last 30, gained 5lbs back. At the exact time that I gained the 5lbs I lost an inch off of my waist-an unmistakable sign of fat loss/muscle gain as the program is designed to accomplish.
Recently, I was “Transformation of the Week” on a bodybuilding site www.Bodybuilding.com/fun/transm146.htm I was excited and proud to talk about P90X on one of the largest and heavily read websites created for fitness: anyone serious about fitness needs to know about P90X.

In April of 2008, I was the $10,000.00 winner for my age group. Looking ahead to the end of year contest, I ramped up my workouts and tightened up my diet. I used alot of muscle mass building techniques within the framework of P90X, such as negative reps, rest pause sets, static holds, and used very heavy weight in attempt to burn off more fat by building muscle. Also, with the help of my coach, we put together a diet plan where I removed all simple carbs from diet, and tapered them towards the end of the day. The net result, I lost an additional 28 lbs and reached my long range goal of 10% bodyfat.

I have become a bona fide fitness buff..I love working out, and helping others reach their goal. I am 44 years old and look better than I ever have in my life.


Looking forward to Insanity!!