Walking the Walk

Sure, I can talk about fitness and health, but what am I actually doing about it in my own life? Read on to find out.

I hope that people who take the time to read this blog find it useful and interesting. A huge thanks, by the way, goes out to everyone who checks in when I post on facebook or Twitter that there's a new entry. I've had some good feedback, so I'm happy to keep it going. I'm also always on the lookout for new topics, so feel free to send me questions and comments.

While I enjoy talking about fitness and health, I also know that there are a lot of people out there who follow the "do as I say, not as I do" philosophy. They might spout off about how things should be done, but in their own lives, completely ignore their own words. We can probably all think of examples where someone's public statements have collided with their personal actions and decisions. To show you that I am NOT one of those people, and that balanced fitness isn't just something I talk about, I thought it might be useful to describe my own current fitness program, both in terms of exercise and nutrition.

Exercise

I obviously make no secret of my opinion of Beachbody programs. I've done P90X twice, and I'm currently in week 6 of 12 on P90X+. The "Plus" is a new set of five workouts that emphasize the same muscle confusion principle so vividly on display in P90X, but in a very different way. Where P90X resistance workouts tackle two or three bodyparts at a time, like Chest and Back, or Chest Shoulders and Triceps, the two resistance workouts in the Plus, Upper Body Plus and Total Body Plus, hit more muscle groups at once. Where the P90X workouts are all about an hour long, the Plus workouts are generally about 40 to 45 minutes long. Another difference is that with P90X, you choose the weight you want to lift, and aim for a certain number of reps. In the Plus, you choose your weight but continue for a set period of time instead. You then immediately move on to the next exercise with no break in between. The Plus is essentially circuit training, where P90X is more like conventional weight training.

The cardio workouts are also different. Instead of Plyometrics (which I love, even though the first time I tried it I had to stop halfway because I was going to throw up), there's Interval X Plus, and instead of Kenpo X, there's Kenpo Cardio Plus. Again, the Plus workouts are shorter and more intense. There's also Abs/Core Plus, which subs in for P90X's Ab Ripper X. It's a challenging abs workout that also emphasizes overall core strengthening. Core includes everything from your chest to your knees, so it's a pretty comprehensive workout on its own, and you do it right after Upper Plus.

Both programs have "recovery" weeks. Unlike P90X, however, where the recovery week involves lots of yoga and stretching, the Plus recovery week uses the P90X resistance workouts. So instead of Upper Plus, you would do Chest and Back instead. Not much of a recovery, but it definitely changes things up for the body in a big way. Both programs also include yoga, which I'll talk about in a moment.

Overall, the Plus is an excellent group of workouts. They are very different from P90X. Given how sore I was when I started the Plus, it's clear that they work. I'm really enjoying it. Together, P90X and the Plus make for an incredibly challenging but effective fitness program.

Now, on to yoga. As I've said elsewhere on this site, I hated yoga the first time I tried it. Since then, it's become my absolute favourite workout. I really love it, and can't recommend it highly enough to everyone. No matter your physical limitations, or how unflexible you think you are, you can and will benefit from yoga if you give it a chance. In addition to Yoga X, the routine that came with P90X, I have since bought Fountain of Youth yoga, also from P90X trainer Tony Horton, as well as two Eoin Finn DVDs. Eoin is a yoga practitioner from BC, and his programs are also really good. He gets into the non-physical side of yoga more than Tony does. I've also joined a local yoga studio, and attend an early class once a week. It's been really great learning about this practice. I hope you will give it a try. My flexibility has improved, my strength has improved, and the calmness of mind that it brings is a welcome change from an otherwise crazy day. Seriously, give it a shot.

So, there you have it. I'm doing something, whether it's resistance, intervals, plyo, yoga or kickboxing, six days a week for about an hour at a time.

Nutrition

I follow the P90X nutrition guide for the most part, though I just recently added more protein to my diet to help increase lean body mass. What that means is I consume about 3,000 calories a day, broken down into about 350g of carbs, 70g of fat, and 260g of protein. I think that's about a 45/20/35 percentage ratio.

My primary food sources are lean proteins and egg whites, whole grain breads and tortillas, lots of vegetables, some fruit and dairy, and almost entirely unsaturated fats from nuts and olive oil. I also use both whey and casein protein shakes. This diet, with some tweaking along the way, has brought me to about 178lbs and, according to my bodyfat calipers, 5.6% bodyfat.

As for supplements, I also use a pre-workout drink called "24/7", which has some carbs, but also creatine and amino acids to jumpstart my system in the morning since I work out right after waking up and on an empty stomach. I follow my workout with the P90X Results and Recovery Formula, which has about 10g of protein and 40g of carbs. Carbs are essential after a hard workout to replenish your muscles, so don't be afraid of them after you exercise. I also take a multi-vitamin, as well as additional creatine, a fish oil capsule, Vitamin D and Vitamin C.

I drink a good bit of water during the day, though probably not as much as I should. Hydration is important, especially if you're taking creatine. (Without proper hydration, creatine can lead to painful leg cramps. I know this from experience.) I also drink black coffee, low-sodium V8 juice, and use 8 oz of skim milk in my casein protein shake. Lately I've been getting into different kinds of tea as well. Things like tea and coffee are actually pretty good for you so long as you don't bombard them with cream, milk, sugar, caramel, chocolate or any of the other things that can turn a simple beverage into liquid dessert.


Well, there you have it. I hope you can see that I take balanced fitness seriously enough that I walk the walk in addition to talking the talk. Know that I wouldn't recommend anything that I wouldn't do myself. Is it a lot of work? I suppose it is. It took some effort to get the diet down, and getting out of bed that early is still tough some days, but the thing is that once health becomes a habit, you really start to crave it. On days where you eat poorly or miss a workout, you feel it. I hope you'll choose to join me and make positive changes in your life as well. There's always room for more, and it's NEVER too late to start!