Why P90X isn't about the workouts.

After posting my round 2 pictures on facebook a few weeks back I have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the success I have achieved. I have had both friends and family asking me for advice on whether P90X truly works, how it works, and if they would be a good fit. Every time I am asked about it I get excited because it's an opportunity for me to share my story and hopefully help create ones for others.

First off I always start by telling them that I am not a professional in fitness by any stretch of the imagination. Most if not all the knowledge I have from health and fitness has been acquired through my own searching, questioning, and digging. I am a firm believer in being all natural. Good hard American work, proper nutrition, and a powerful attitude are what drive me, not short cuts. When people ask me man how did you get so cut? I tell them straight up through P90X, my diet and attitude. They get that I worked out and see that as the main reason for my success but what they don't understand is that it's not about the workouts.(mostly)

If I had enough time to explain to people what I am about to explain it would change their minds of the TOTAL transformation I have achieved.

P90X or any extreme workout program is not for those looking for that quick fix. (90 days is by no means quick) For the sake of time I will assume (although I never like to) that people know that doing a workout like P90X is intense to the max. The workout itself is hard no doubt but it is everything else that surrounds the workout that is the true challenge (hence the title).

I wanna use a quick example to illustration what I'm trying to get at. Most people tend to work 8 hours or more in a given day. Despite what line of work your in you know that 8 hours makes for a long day. This is only the hours you have at your job and not including everything else in your life. If you have been pressing the "play" button on life you can be very exhausted. Now throw in a 50 min intense workout at the end of that day. This is where the real challenge lies. It's not always about the workout but actually being able to get to the workout that's challenging in itself. Say you work 12 hours in a given day let alone on a Friday. It would be so easy to say no thank you workout I'll go drink a beer. But after going through P90X instead of saying no thank you workout I can say no thank you beer. This is what makes P90X more then just the workout. Being able to have a whole different mindset on life.

Many people pick what is gonna satisfy them in the present. By going through P90X I can now look at a situation and make a decision based on how it will affect me down the road. Bad habits are very difficult to break but once you do the walls of those habits crumble and you replace them with positive ones.

P90X allowed me to change the way I made a lot of decisions. Most nights when I had the choice of pizza or lean chicken I would go with the chicken. In times of past depending on how long it had been since I had pizza I would justify eating empty calories because I hadn't had them in a while. Now I am able to approach this and say how will eating that pizza effect my body, energy levels, mind, performance 5 minutes down the road, 1 hour down the road, days down the road?? To me when you look at everything in a cause/effect situation it allows you weigh options in both the now and down the road.

P90X has opened the question master within me. Instead of simply saying don't eat that or don't do that. I ask why? What is the reason behind all the little details in this healthy life style. Yes I know it is for better health but why? Yes I know eating that pizza is bad but why? What's the real reason why it's bad? Dig deeper as to the WHY. I'm not just satisfied with "well because it will make you fat". What is the science behind it? What is it that makes each ingredient act the way it does in your system not allowing you to have a healthy experience?? WHY WHY WHY??? Instead of saying that I am to tired to do the workout, I now ask why shouldn't I do the workout. Why should I?? I have more to gain from doing a workout then I have from not doing one.

This whole journey has opened doors that I never felt possible. Before P90X I was in good shape. I "attempted" to eat right, workout and stay healthy. I never knew there was a much better way to it and as I write this today I know that months from now I'll be saying "and there was an even better way then before". I KNOW MORE!!

P90X isn't about the workouts it about what motivates the workouts, what drives the people to continue, what gets people excited for the day saying what the heck am I going to learn today? It's about possibilities and being open. It's about sharing and learning. It's about total health, mind, and body. It's about bringing it and pressing play on LIFE.