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There are some common P90X mistakes that could make your journey through the 13 week program less rewarding and possibly longer.

Mistake #1

Working Out Is Only Half the Equation:

You can achieve the results advertised on the T.V. if you adhere to the P90X diet while you work out.  While using the P90X, each day I burned around 3100 calories. The P90X comes with a age/gender chart to help you figure out the exact amount that you are burning.

Day 1: 195 lbs

Day 90: 172 lbs

If you complete each workout at the rate that Tony is going, you will burn around 700 calories per workout. This in turn creates a larger appetite and drives you to eat more. If you are replacing the calories that you just burned off you are not going to lose a single pound. It is just simple math. While burning 3,100 calories a day I was on a 2,400 calorie/day diet. Losing 700 calories per day multiplied my 6 days a week, that adds up to 4,200 calories a week lost. A pound of fat is around 3,500 calories.  I was losing over a pound of fat per week.

If you want to see the results as advertised on T.V. you have to commit yourself to both the P90X workouts and diet.  Stay the course and you will reap the rewards.  Stick with only the workouts and your results will be limited.

Mistake #2

Starting Out Too Strong:

Before buying and completing the P90X I was almost completely sedintary for about 6 years.  Now I say almost because I did manage to get off my butt every weekend and play soccer for 90 minutes but there was absolutely no weight training involved. Before I purchased the P90X I told myself that I was going to completely dedicate myself to it and that I was not going to quit.

The first workout I went way to hard. For those of you who have not begun the workouts, the first workout is chest and back. Chest and back is 24 sets of push-ups and pull-ups with a couple band workouts. I “sold out” during the workout finishing each exercise to the last painful rep. I had pushed myself way to hard.

To say I was sore the next day is an understatement. I was so sore that I couldn’t even bend by forearms to scratch my nose.

If you have not worked out consistently before starting the P90X take it easy the first week. I recommend finishing your sets when you start to feel the slightest bit of muscle failure. Don’t push through to total muscle failure. You will end up being too sore and take a day or two off. And then before you know it your two days off has turned into a week and you have to start all over. Ease into the “X”.

Mistake #3

Not Writing Down Your Reps

Simply put, write down your reps to each exercise. Period. Doing this will help your transformation and aid you in achieving your goals.

There are printable P90X workout sheets that allow you to track your progression throughout the 13 week workout period. Writing down your reps allows you to set goals for the next workout. If you don’t set goals you are just going through the motions and limiting your results. Before I begin each exercise, I look at what I did the last time I performed this particular exercise and I create a goal from this. I usually add 2-3 reps onto my previous number.  Write it down!

This is a recovery week and I must say that I am not very fond of sitting around and not doing much. I was supposed to do yoga yesterday, but instead I went for a 4 mile run. I was surprised of how far I could run last night without resting. Usually I run out of gas after about 2 miles and I have to “will myself” to finish 3 miles. I can truly say that the P90X has helped me get leaner and helped my cardio go through the roof.

Last week I noticed that I wasn’t losing as much weight as before and I wasn’t quite sure why. Well, come to find out all I needed to do was to clean up my diet. I have begun to slowly lose weight again. 170 may still be within my reach by October.

9/1

I just finished up core synergistics. Next to yoga, this must be my least favorite dvd. I am still getting a great workout, but some of the movements seem to made up and awkward. For example the “Dreya-Roll”. This has to be the dumbest movement yet. On a positive note, Tony does introduce us to the sphynx pushup. This is a pretty cool push up that really works the core muscles. Tomorrow is one of my more favorite cardio workouts, Kempo X!

9/2

I made a mistake working out today. I waited until 8pm to start Kempo.Upon beginning, I immediately noticed a difference in my energy level, I had none of it. Tony sometimes mentions “bonking” during workouts and how to work through it. Well I definitely “bonked” during my workout and almost didn’t make it through it.

9/3:

I was supposed to do the X-Stretch today but I feel that it’s a worthless dvd. I decided to run a few miles instead. Sometimes I feel that its hard to do nothing once you have been doing something for 50 days. Maybe I am addicted to working out?