Getting Ready for P90X

Once I had decided that I wanted to try P90X, I had to prove to myself that I was capable of doing it. A friend of mine has the package, so I borrowed disc 1 from him and attempted the first day’s workout. It was hard, but doable, so I figured I was ready to go.

I ordered it, and once it arrived and I unboxed it, I find out there’s a “Fit Test” you’re supposed to take before you start. Might have been nice to know that before I bought it. Maybe it says so on the website, but I missed it.

So, what’s the Fit Test?

Pull-ups: Do at least 3 if male, 1 if female. Ok, I did 4. I passed.

Vertical leap: Measure your vertical leap (there is guidance on how). At least 5” for male, 3” for female. 11”. I passed.

Push ups: 15 for male, 3 if female. I can do 100+ of these. Have done them several times as part of the Wii fit exercises. I wimped out for the Fit Test and quit after 40.

Sitting toe touch: Sit down with legs straight and stretch to your toes. Reach should be at least within 6” of your toes. Hmmm, yeah, we’ll call it 6”. (ok, I may have fibbed on this one a bit. I’m not the most limber person in the world)

Wall squat: Sit like you’re sitting in an imaginary chair with your back against the wall. Hold this for at least 60 seconds. You can slide down if you want, but once butt hits the floor, you’re done. I did 63 seconds. Probably could’ve done about 75, to be honest.

Bicep curls: 10 curls with 20 pound weights for male, 10 curls with 8 pounds if female. I did 12 at 20.

In an outs: This is an ab exercise. Do 25. I did 35.

Jumping jacks: 2 minutes, with last 30 seconds really pushing yourself. Was pooped after, but yes, I did it. You’re supposed to measure your heart rate for the next 4 minutes. I won’t tell you what my numbers were. Awful. And I wasn’t quite back to resting rate even after 4 minutes (it doesn’t list that as a requirement, but seems implied—only requirement is that you can do 2 minutes of jumping jacks).

Measure your body fat: Mine’s 12.26%.

The P90X package is a 90 day eXtreme workout divided into 3 segments. The two segments are 28 days each, and the third segment consumes the remainder. To do the P90X perfectly, you should follow their nutrition guidance as well. It has meal plans and recipes for you to follow, or just portion suggestions. Based upon your starting weight and typical physical activity, there are recommendations for your intake for each segment.

Being the math minded person that I am, even the portion suggestions wasn’t simple enough for me. I just wanted a calorie/gram breakdown for proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. I did the math, and for the first segment it works out for me to be about 230 g protein per day, 180 g carbs per day, and 40 g fat per day. This is a very high protein/low fat diet. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m diabetic, so while 180 g carbs might be low for some, that’s actually about 50% more carbs than I generally eat in a day. I was already on what I thought was high protein, and I was only doing about 120 g per day. And my fat is too high. So, I have to double protein, increase carbs, and yet cut fat. Going to be fun. Well, at least it’s only for the 1st 28 days. It looks like the second 28 days might be a bit easier for me.

If you want calorie breakdowns, it’s about 920 cals in protein, 720 cals in carbs, and 350 cals in fat. Per day. Roughly 2,000 calories total. I typically do about 1400-1500. I don’t see myself growing all the way up to 2,000 right away. We’ll have to see how it goes.

So, that’s the prep work. Find out if you can do the things above, and figure out how you’ll be able to manage a very high protein, very low fat diet.