Hey everybody. I just officially started today, and I have some questions about the workouts. I'm doing classic, so today I did the chest and back and the ab ribber discs. On the chest and back, I can't even come close to doing one dive bomb. Also, on the second round, I couldn't do one elevated push up, so I just did standard ones instead. Is this ok? Towards the end, I even dropped to my knees for some girl push ups. I figured that was better than nothing. Also, is it normal that I can't even do one pull up without the assist of the chair?

On to the Ab Ripper video...these guys are freakin insane. I did my best, but couldn't do half of the exercises. I settled for standard sit-ups when I couldn't do the crazy exercises they were doing (like laying flat on your back and sitting up, laying down, and bringing your feet up - I can't sit up laying flat on my back.) Is it ok to be doing standard sit-ups when the others are beyond me? Also, I pushed as hard as I could until I couldn't do even one more sit-up, but I didn't finish the video.

bonham
the dive bombs are the worst......second set is impossible. just stick with it!!!

As for the ab ripper. the way I look at it is that no one can sit down and do 349 sit ups without patience and practice. The way im doing them is setting a goal in mind.....for instance instead of doing 25 reps for each work out I do 12. When week two comes around I will up my number to 15 or 18. The week after that increase again, etc etc. This way I cover all the workouts and also set a realistic goal for myself.

hope this helps

I second Irodgers' method for ARX. start with a number, say 10. and then each time you do ARX, add 1 rep. to each move. before you know it, you'll be pounding out 25 each with the kids. even more maybe!

dont worry if you can't do everything in your first week. the first week is the hardest. you may even want to consider this more of a "warm up" week, then let next week be your official week 1. whichever way, be ready to be REALLY sore, everyday. and dont worry about not being able to do a pull up. i couldnt do 1 when i started. just make sure you're pushing with all you've got. theres no dogging it in P90X!

Like Tony always says, "Do your best, and forget the rest!"

Thanks guys. Today was plyometrics, and I was much more successful with that (although it was still difficult).

Question about protein drinks and bars - When is the best time to drink/eat them? I had a bar about 30 minutes before the workout, and I had dinner about 15 minutes after the workout (salmon and brown rice), so I didn't have the recovery drink today. Is it ok to have the drink 2-3 hours after the workout?

Also, what is a good after-dinner snack? I have carrot sticks (gross) and some fruit. I eat dinner at about 6:00 but don't go to sleep until 11:00 or 12:00, so I need something to eat during that time.

Thanks again.

I'm not expert in the field as I haven't even started the P90X program, but from what I've read, the best time to have the recovery drink is within an hour of your hardest workout of the day. I believe the nutrition guide says to drink only the recovery drink within that hour and nothing else. Then, you should aim to have dinner no sooner than an hour after your workout.

I'm not too sure about an after-dinner snack. I guess it depends on what type of nutrition you have left for the day, but the guide says to not eat anything within 3 hours before you go to bed.