Archives for January 2013

Does Shakeology Cure The Common Cold?

January 22, 2013 - Updated November 16, 2018

Wouldn’t that be nice? No more missing days of work, school, or life in general. There is no cure for the common cold so far but as most of us know there are treatments for it. Getting rest, drinking fluids, and washing your hands help limit it spreading to others.

Most of the info I found about antibiotics and antivirals say that neither have an effect against the common cold. Definitely fooled me for all these years. The link also says that healthy people tend to not get the cold as much as non-healthy people. Kind of makes sense even without getting all scientific.

I’ve been working out on average 4 days a week for the past 6 years. During the first 3 years I would still get the occasional cold or sinus infection. In the past 3 years I can’t remember getting a cold once. I did get some crazy 24 hour bug thing twice but that was not the common cold. I’m going more along the lines of coughing, sneezing, runny nose type of symptoms. I truly believe the reason why I’m not getting the same amount of colds as I used to is because of Shakeology.

Shakeology is not the cure to the common cold as I know people who still get them while using it. Many do say that they don’t get them as much though. My best guess is because of all the nutrition that’s involved with Shakeology. The link at the top says that studies show Vitamin C to not really have an effect on curing the common cold.

This got me thinking into what does stop the common cold. The best I could find is from being healthy and having a strong immune system. And then if there is anything in Shakeology that helps build up your immune system. Turns out there is.

Antioxidants

These are nutrients in foods that slow down the oxidation of our bodies. They also protect us from free radical damage and help the body’s natural response to inflammation.

Phytonutrients

These promote a strong immune system, slow down aging, help detoxify the body, and are the nutrients believed to be necessary to sustaining human life. Sounds like they are kind of a big deal.

Adaptogens

These bad boys increase energy, protect the body from stress (don’t we always get a cold when we’re stressed), help balance endocrine hormones, and promote a strong immune system. Sounds like they do a lot of work. Beachbody says there are 9 Adaptogens in Shakeology which are more than any other shake out there.

Shakeology does not cure the common cold but it will give it one hell of a fight. These are just some of the 70+ ingredients that are in Shakeology. Don’t some of them sound kind of angry? Like, your glad they are on your side. The trick is that you have to use it everyday. Like everyday. Not somedays. Not once in a while. Everyday.

Beyond helping fight the common cold, Shakeology will do so much more only if you let it. If your sick and tired – no pun intended – of being sick and tired from the common cold then go try out a sample pack of Shakeology.

I’ve been using Shakeology daily for seven years and think its at least helping keep colds away which says a lot since I live in Michigan where its cold half the year.

Should I Do A Hybrid Workout?

January 17, 2013 - Updated January 17, 2013

Have you finished the entire program already? I get a lot of emails from people who want to jump right into a hybrid program after only finishing a week or two of P90X, Insanity, or any other Beachbody program. I think people are demanding too much too soon. Just because you haven’t seen results yet does not mean they are not going to follow or that switching to something else all together will get you there.

Many of the Beachbody programs are designed so that in the first month you are building up your base level of fitness and strength. So of course you’re not going to see eye-popping results just yet. You’re working everything. Not just one area. You might feel a little stronger and even drop some weight but you have not passed the mirror test yet. This does not mean the workout is not working.

“It’s a process. It’s a process. It’s a process.” – Brad Pitt in Moneyball.

When you’re trying something new you need to see it through. Just like in the movie when they introduced a new way to approach evaluating players you need to look at finishing a workout program the same way. There are going to be bumps in the road. Especially if you’re not committing to the process or plan that was set up in the beginning. Deviate from the plan when you’re not seeing results and you’ll be back at square one. Many people don’t start seeing results until month 2 in Insanity or the beginning of month 3 with P90X. But those who do stick with it until then will be rewarded with the results they wanted.

If this is your first time doing one of those programs then stick with it. Get the absolute most that you can out of it. When you are done, then look at doing a P90X and Insanity hybrid program. But until then, stick with the process.

Can You Drink Beer And Get Results With P90X?

January 15, 2013 - Updated November 30, 2018

Take away pop, juices, and even coffee but don’t take away my beer! I think there is something liberating about being able to have a couple beers. The other drinks – not so much.

But what about when it comes to P90X? Can you still get great results while having a couple beers here and there? The answer is yes and no.

What Kind Of P90X Results Do You Want?

Do you want infomercial results? If so, then don’t drink beer for the entire 90 days. Beachbody only shows off the best of the best when it comes to P90X results.

How are you going to get those eye popping 6 pack abs if your putting down an extra 2k calories in beers every weekend? You can’t.

Do you want to be healthy and fit? You can still lose weight and get in shape while kicking back and relaxing with a couple beers here and there. The workouts are so tough that in many cases your metabolism will burn off the remaining calories anyways. Not all, but a lot of them.

I’m not gonna lie and tell you that I’m all straight edge and hardcore when it comes to doing P90X. I do follow the workout calendars and finish them usually within a week or two of the alloted time.

Before I started doing P90X I was really skinny making my results different than most. I put on weight and my body started to change. I didn’t follow the meal plan at all as I thought I ate ok to begin with. Yes, I’d still have a couple beers on the weekend. Here is what my results looked like from my first round.

If I didn’t stick my chest out in the day 90 photo you might see some definition. What I can tell you is I was the most fit I’ve ever been up to that point in my life in that picture. The amount of pull ups and push ups I could do in that picture is 2 – 5 times as many as I could do on day 1. But, as you can see those results are not getting on a infomercial. My diet was around a B- and I was still enjoying beers.

The Trick

The real challenge comes with the meal plan. This is where I’ve learned to make sacrifices so I can still enjoy a beer or two when I’m doing P90X. Once I cracked the P90X meal plan open and started applying just a couple things is when the definition started to show. My biggest things were portion sizes and cutting back on dairy. Started eating a lot more vegetables. Made better choices when going out to eat. Those little things added up and made all the difference when it came to getting visible results.

Shakeology was a game changer too. Beachbody hadn’t introduced it until after I finished my first round of P90X. This wasn’t the answer but it did simplify a whole lot of the nutrition issues I was having. It kept me full so I wasn’t reaching for snacks and it really did a job on getting any junk I put into my system out of it. Those little changes added up to these results after finishing my second round of P90X.

There is a lot more definition showing up now and the thing is that my amount of reps and weight used in P90X might have gone up by just a little bit. The biggest changes came with what I put in my body. I knew that giving up beers forever or even for 90 days is probably not going to happen. But what I could do is change other things I put into my body.

For me, P90X is all about getting fit. Making an infomercial or getting 6 pack abs hasn’t been on the top of my list. Can I play sports and do I feel comfortable with my shirt off? Yes – then good.

Now if you want to get the best possible results in the shortest time possible then go all in with the P90X meal plan and don’t have any beers for 90 days. Your results will show up much faster. I’m creeping towards more of what Tony Horton has to say about beer and drinking. Not because I want to. My body is telling me so.

Bodybuild After P90X

January 10, 2013 - Updated November 30, 2018

So you just finished your first round of P90X and you’re pumped about the results. If you’re like most people you either dropped weight, leaned up, or took your fitness to a whole new level.

Depending on what your goals are you could either keep on doing P90X over and over again or make a hybrid workout. For some you might be thinking that you want to increase your strength around your new found fitness. The only way to do that is by bodybuilding.

You might think of what you just did with P90X as bodybuilding and in a way you’re right. Your body is now built up more than what it was when you started. At the same time, bodybuilding will challenge your muscles to grow in a completely different way then what you did with P90X.

Yes, you could do P90X again while wearing a weighted vest. Or maybe you just do 8 reps when you have to lift weights. But is that what you really want to do? Don’t you kind of want to take a break from all of Tony Horton’s jokes? What you should consider doing is taking a break from P90X and doing Body Beast instead.

Body Beast is a 90 day bodybuilding program where its only goal is to bulk you up. I put on 24 pounds of mostly muscle doing it and enjoyed lifting weights over all the crazy moves you do with P90X.

My body enjoyed the break too. Less wear and tear on the joints. Lots of simple moves where you challenge your body to lift as much as you can with low reps. It’s a lot of fun tracking how much you can lift as you progress through the program.

If you’re looking to do some bodybuilding after P90X then give Body Beast a try. It will challenge your body in a whole new way. You will be better prepared with you just finishing P90X. The workouts are only 40 minutes long but they still bring the same intensity of P90X. Do a round of Body Beast. Bulk up. Then go back to P90X.