I did intend to start a P90X diary at the beginning of the challenge, but I decided I’d try see if I’d make it through the first 30 days first before putting myself out there.

The P90X challenge, well what can I say, it’s been tough… bloody tough. So why am I doing it, well let me fill you in on some history.

In my younger years, late teens and early twenties I was always reasonably fit. I dare say I was probably at an amateur athlete level as I was doing a lot of training in Martial Arts from the age of 16 through to 22 (having obtained a black belt in that time and also helping to instruct) sitting around 76 kg – very lean, trim and toned. Then roughly from the age of 22 to 26 I became a  member of Towradgi Surf Life Saving Club, so I was doing a fair bit of swimming, running on the sand etc to keep in shape. Heck, I was even part of the TSLSC boat crew that participated in the 2006 George Bass Marathon (a gruelling 156km / 96.9 mile ocean start surf boat race), we didn’t win, but for a crew made up of a mix of Juniors, Seniors, Men and Woman (yes just 1 – and Philippa carried as much as the guys did) we did our best, at this point I was around 85 kg – quite a bit of solid muscle, I think I was healthiest at this time.

I had a pretty toned and lean physique and could jog and swim for ages.

… carry that forward to now (well 30 days ago as I write this) roughly 7 years later …

I’m a guy, married to my lovely wife Chrystal, father of 2 awesome boys, Dashel and Lawson. I’ve established a pretty solid career in the technology industry working as a Software Engineer. I’d also ballooned from that healthy, active 85 kg to 106 kg! I’d basically stopped doing any form of sport or exercise once I’d landed my first job in Sydney, pretty bad I know, I made a lot of excuses for not keeping active (the usual: I’m too tired! I’m knackered, I’ll do it tomorrow, I’ll do it next week, I can always pick it up again if I want etc. the list goes on).

… I was unfit, unhappy, unhealthy. It’s amazing how much it can impact your personal life as well, it’s literally a lot of bad weight piling up, excess baggage that needs to be ditched …

I’m lucky to be the type of person with strong discipline and willpower, if I make a decision and put my mind to it, I get the job done – no excuses. How did I let myself slide then you ask? Easy, I just got lazy, I wasn’t maintaining discipline, keeping focus, because I simply didn’t want to – and I was fine with that. I’m happy to make mistakes now and then, and learn from the experience – it’s the best way to grow. So 30 days ago I made the call to start shredding the fat and get myself in shape again. I’d been doing a bit of walking and what not on my lunch breaks a few weeks beforehand, but I needed something better, something that used to be like my old martial arts training sessions at Streetwise. As one does, I turned to Google and had a hunt through for some sort of exercise programs, there’s loads of gimmicky get fit quick bullshit (such as Abs in 60 seconds etc heh) but more and more I saw a lot of people talking about P90X so I figured I’d give it a go.

… and here we are after 30 days of P90X down …

I’ve been sticking to the Fat Shredder diet for the first 30 days, which is high in protein, low in carbs and fat to cut some weight. I’m most likely going to be switching to the Energy Booster as the Nutrition guide suggests from Day 30 onward as I’m feeling a bit low on energy now doing workouts. So far losses have been respectable and I’m feeling like cardio and fitness is improving *a lot*. The Ab Ripper X after the resistance workouts has been brutal, P90X isn’t for the weak of heart – if you’re the type of person that gives up easily, then this isn’t the program for you (but as Tony Horton says “Do your best, forget the rest!”). I’m still not able to keep up with the programs in each session, but I can tell there are improvements every single session I do. The sessions end up being roughly 60-90 minutes in length (average around 70 minutes).

In short summary:

• The Good – Feeling energised, the food I’m eating is healthier and better for me. We were eating too much crap and junk food, both Chrys and I have cut it out of our diets. Stronger and fitter, already in 30 days I’m feeling it.
• The Bad – Every day so far I’ve felt sore, not in pain, just muscle soreness, so I know this stuff is working. Tony expressly tells you to watch for joints etc and don’t overdo it, I’ve been listening as well so I’ve had no joint pain, shin splints etc as I’ve had in the past when doing a lot of running. I don’t go crazy with my weights either, when I struggle to get through a rep I know I’m done, no point pulling muscles or causing injury.
• The Ugly – It’s hard, hard as hell. I’m backing up 6 days a week, with Sunday off as my rest day. I’m doing my workouts at night, a couple of hours after I’ve had dinner, I’m getting the best sleep I’ve had in a while – I grab a shower, grab some vitamins a protein drink then crash in bed. You have to be willing to give this program a shot, be consistent and stick with it, it provides results!

Here below I’m keeping my measurements, fit test results and photos as I progress.

Day 1 Measurements (Metric / Imperial):