Team Beachbody Guest

2008 was a year where I turned 40 and weighed more than I ever had in my
life. My before photo is a still-frame of a video my wife took of me running
through the sprinklers with the kids. I knew I had let myself go but seeing
that video really brought it all home for me. I was in horrible shape and living
with chronic back and neck pain. If I picked up one of my three year-old
twins the wrong way, I would throw my back out and be miserable for two
weeks. I was coming to the realization that I wasn't rough-housing with the
twins the way they wanted to. The fear of throwing out your back is a strong
motivator. I felt like I couldn't be the kind of Dad my kids deserve without
the physical connection like picking them up and carrying them to bed,
wrestling in the living room, etc... The problem was that I felt helpless to do
anything about it. I didn't want to leave my family two hours a night to go to
the gym. I experimented with running but I was so out of shape that it was a
total waste of time. I just could't push myself hard enough to make any gains.

About a year ago, I saw the P90X infomercial on TV and thought that it
looked perfect for me but I never trusted an infomercial and wanted to do
more research but couldn't remember the name. A few months later a
colleague of mine told me how great P90X was and that added credibility to it
in my mind. I still couldn't remember the name to do some research but I
was thinking about it.

The final straw came all on one day. I was a new Region Manager sitting with
one of my Sales Reps when a stranger came up to me and told me I was the
spitting image of Tim Russert, the now-deceased political reporter. I did not
take that as a compliment as Tim was pretty overweight but unfortunately,
the stranger was right. That same evening, when I was at home taking off my
dress pants, the waistband clasp popped off and went flying up in the air,
almost taking out my eye. I had so over-stressed the waistband that the
poor pants just couldn't take it anymore.

I marched right down to the computer and typed P90X into the search bar and
saw all the YouTube videos of transformation stories. I was finally sold that
the program was for real and I bought P90X, P90X Plus, the pull-up bar and
bands. Later I added a Yoga Mat and the Bowflex Dumbbells.

Now that I am finished with P90X and two recovery weeks, I feel as good as I
ever have. I no longer go looking for the escalator or elevator when the
stairs are right in front of me. Most importantly, I can be the kind of Dad
that I want to be. I can finally rough-house with the kids with no fear of
future back pain. The neck pain is eliminated and my lower back and abs
feel so strong that I am in no danger of throwing out my back. I feel like I
have my life back.

Some milestones for me along the way: The first time I tried Plyometrics (the
most sadistic workout ever invented), I lasted 25 minutes before I almost
threw-up and had to stop. The second time I lasted thirty minutes. The third
time I made it all the way to the bonus round.

I didn't start doing AbRipperX until Week 9 and everything else got easier
especially Plyo.

I hit a crossroad after Week 9 Yoga. I got the flu and didn't workout for 4
days. I could have stopped right then but I made the tough decision to start
Week 9 over again and I haven't missed a day since. That's about when I
joined this web site. It helps to read people's stories and decide that I can do
that too.

On Dec 5th, I got serious about my diet. I started a food/workout journal
and wrote down everything I ate. It really makes you think twice before you
eat "three handfuls of potato chips" knowing that your will have to write that
down. In the 19 days since then, I have lost 10 pounds.

Today is Christmas and also the day I am starting P90X Plus. It looks a little
out of my league but I really want to be able to do it and am going to give it
my all.

I really appreciate this site where people have asked me to work out with
them and it makes me want to do it even more. Thanks to TheBullet, JasonA,
Lisa12, AV8TR for the extra motivation.

I can't wait to see where the next 13 weeks take me but this new lifestyle is
really working out well for me.