started p90x. on 8/5...need help, advice, guidance, motivati

p90x is tough no matter what your fitness level. I have completed 3 rounds and just couldn't do the 4th round I started. The motivation was lacking. When I first started Ab ripper, I could NOT complete any of the routines. Just do the best you can each and every time and it does become a lot easier. In fact, you will be able to do MORE reps than the DVD. Just do the best you can. It will be painful at first, but trust me, you will get better at each exercise. Pullups are hard for just about everyone. Start with bands and then move to assisted chair pullups. Again, you will get stronger and that's the point. Don't get discouraged and take some extra breaks. It will amaze you how much your body will change just doing the best you can for the 90 days. For me, Yoga was the hardest workout. The first 2 rounds, I completed every routine, but on the 3rd round, I left it out just about completely. Takes a lot of time and that is something I don't have a lot of. And, the most important aspect of p90x, the DIET. Follow it as closely as you can. You will not get great results without it. If you put on muscle AND don't reduce fat, your body won't change much at all. You may or may not lose a lot of weight, but if you follow the diet, the tape measure won't lie. Again, I know it's tough, but just do the best you can and things will get better.

Have done lean, and classic. Get a heart rate monitor. I burn around 600 calories though plyometrics tends to get up to 800!
For the pull ups, use a chair or get resistance bands to start. I started out with 0 real pull ups and now can do a few (6-8). Since I was quite out of shape beforehand, I didn't expect a "Beach Body" after the first go around. I jokingly call it "P360X".

I agree with oaker. Tony says do you best and forget the rest. There are workouts that the dvd is doing 30 and 40 and I am stopping at 15 because of muscle failure. Write it down and forget it. The next week try to add 1 more rep. You do get better. Also as much as I hate Yoga I force myself to do it. Yes its long, and yes it is slow but that is the point. I watched an interview with Tony talking about it and he said if he was only allowed to do 1 workout it would be Yoga. Now I can't do all of the moves (ie Crane), but they come. If 90 minutes is really undoable for you go to beachbody and order the Yoga dvd from Tony Hortons Fountain of Youth program. He made it 45 minutes because the X'ers kept complaining about the time. You will get results from the program if you follow it. Read my Blog (A LOT OF WORK.......LITLLE PAY) to get the Law of Compensation which is truly at work in this program (especially during the first month and even the first round). Keep up good work

hi there! i finished up my second week of p90x today. i think anyone can do this..........or atleast definately give it a good shot. i am 320 lbs...there are quite a few moves that i havent been able to do......im doing the classic version..so heres what i think of it........
Day 1 – Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X .......i really like this day! ill talk about abs in a minute
Day 2 – Plyometrics LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
Day 3 – Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X really good workout
Day 4 – Yoga X i love yoga but boy is this freaking hard!!
Day 5 – Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X excellent workout!!
Day 6 – Kenpo X this is MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch the stretch feels sooo good!

ok our first day with abs..OMG i couldnt do a lot! but instead of just not trying i atleast attempted it. when i really just couldnt do the move i would lay there and just do crunches. i think u are atleast benefiting from that. i have now done the ab video 6 times...yesterday i retried some of the moves and actually had already gotten better at them. Tony says that they do something like 349 ab exercises during the entire video...well i counted yesterday and i had only done 270. BUT thats something!!

i was intimadated by p90x at first..then i saw this overweight guy on the informercial talking about how he just modified everything. i have seriously taken that to heart. modify..atleast you are doing something. and i cant do a single pullup..so i use the resistance bands. they are still a wonderful workout!

as for the diet plan..im just going to focus on my 1700 calories a day. which i need to buckle down on. good luck and friend me if you wanna talk some more!

For those struggling with the ab ripper X(300) you can search and download the original ab ripper 100 which is obviously only 100 reps and it is easier than the 300, just a little search on some sites out there and either save it to your desktop or convert it to dvd..just a suggestion.

There is also the ab ripper 200

I have it, but I am going home for a week and a half, so i didn't want to start it just to leave. I really look forward to it, though.

Archie - good for you for getting BACK on the program! We're all human; we get busy, we miss days. The key is getting back on the horse; too many people take an all-or-nothing approach. Tony's mantra is true on ALL levels: Do your best and forget the rest - whether that's reps of an exercise or only being able to squeeze-in 45 minutes of yoga on a busy day. It's better than nothing.

Do YOUR best...People get too obsessed over numbers - "I can only do 3 chin-ups." "I can't complete Ab Ripper." If what you want is gains, ALL that matters is that you're pushing yourself to your (safe) threshold and hanging on as long as you can. If your heartrate hits 165 jumping AN INCH in Plyometrics, well - you're still getting the SAME benefits, relative to YOUR BODY. If you burn after 8-10 "lawnmowers" at 20lbs (Tony mentions doing 90-100 I think) - you're getting the same benefits for your body. And as the weeks go by, you'll find that jumping 2 inches off the floor doesn't get your heartrate pumping - so you JUMP HIGHER. You could "lawnmower" 20lbs for days, no problem - LIFT MORE. The day you can actually FINISH Ab Ripper X (congrats, by the way! I can't!) - that day, you start taking your hands off the mat and folding your legs.

There's a reason Tony keeps saying "YOUR best" - if you PUSH, you WILL get results. Do ONE chin-up, then get the chair if you have to. Next week, try to do 2 before you get the chair. If you're coasting through exercises, you're not benefiting. That's why they have 'easier' ways AND harder ways - so you can keep right on that edge of your max.

I can't bend 90-degrees with my legs straight, my hamstrings are so tight. So many exercises require reasonable flexibility there. But I don't say "Oh well! I'll just skip them!". I bend as far as I possibly can and feel the burn - and eventually, one day, I'll reach my toes. And then...I'll push to reach past them!

Good luck, Archie! Do your best!!

~Rob