I think my biggest bane during the P90X program is getting enough rest between work outs. I often find myself having to double up on a day to catch up because the previous day I was fatigued to the point of having to worry about injuring myself from just walking or being out right delirious.

My question, do you guys think I'd be better off waiting till I know Im in the right state of mind to perform to my maximum ability or should I just push through the best I can? I can normaly pull this off on resistance days but on days such as plyo I get winded very very fast and it cuts some of the moves a little short. I'm also worried I might hurt my self from all the fast twitch movements due to the fact I don't have 100% awarness in this kind of state.

Reason I ask this because 2 or 3 days out of the week I'm waking up at 2-3am and working 9+ hour shifts on my feet all day long litteraly pacing back and forth serving customers and am exhausted but have to get things done for my education, house hold chores and family stuff. I think I know my answer but it would be nice to have an opinion on this for those of us with busy life styles but still want to push through to get out work outs in safely.

If you're in an unsafe state, physically or mentally then don't do the work out or at least modify it down a notch.

That being said, you need to do two things.

1. Review your diet. Not getting enough quality calories at the right intervals will contribute to fatigue and impair your ability to recover. If you aren't keeping a log, then start.

2. Plan out your week as thoroughly as possible. Layout each day w/ what you have to do and when. Workout late, workout early, workout midday, whatever you have to do to fit it in. Remove any activities that don't aid your success. For me, that was Xbox 360 and Call of Duty

My wife and I sit down on Sunday and plan a menu and our workouts. We fit everything in so we can maintain some sanity between jobs, kids (their sports, activities, etc)and anything else that pops up. If you plan out your week it will make it easier to know what you need to be doing and when. Less wasted time means more time for sleep too! Try to schedule 8hrs if at all possible!

If after doing that, and excuse my bluntness, you are still struggling then perhaps your fitness level wasn't adequate to start P90x. If you're still struggling you should consider shifting gears a little. Either do the "program" in a modified way that doesn't run you ragged or find a different program more suitable for your level of fitness. After a month or so, if you feel like you can stick closer to X then restart the program and go balls to the wall.

To paraphrase Tony from the first workout "...don't let pride or ego prevent you from reaching your goals". It would be much better to start and finish X the way you want a few months later than originally thought than to burn yourself out and not be able to finish.

Either way, your mental attitude will see that you achieve success but sometimes you have to recognize your current limitations and take a step back, figure out how to beat them and then stomp em!

Hopefully this will prove helpful!

I agree with t1m. The rigors of family, and spouse, work, and any sort of life makes it difficult to DEDICATE an hour+ per day for this or anything else for that matter.

However, in my life at least I have made it a priority. I go to sleep 30 minutes earlier, and wake up an hour earlier to do the routine EVERY day. I missed day 2, and I will never make that mistake again as I had to work our 13 days straight to catch up! On double days, I sneak in CardioX (only 40 mins) before dinner after work. I get home, pull on my shorts and hit the deck. I barely kiss the wife hello. But she know how important this is to me.

My kids... I invite them to join in. My 9 yr old daughter is a yoga queen now and can downward dog with the best of them (she is on the cover of DD magazine this month). And if you want to kick pushups a notch, do them with a 40# 4 year old on your back.

Life is a juggle already and this is a dedication program for most of us.

My advice, plan it out!!! Don't make excuses to skip, but only do what you can do safely! Most of us have bad body parts because we pushed too hard and did unsafe things!

Well said both of you.

Well I have fine example of what is killing me from yesterday. I went to sleep at 2pm to wake up at 1am so I could work out and then make it to work by 4am. 5pm I wake up to walls rumbling. And my freakin brother is sitting in the living room watching Clover Field with his girl friend with the surround sound blarring. I do my yelling and screaming and then try to go back to sleep, too late. I'm quite the insomniac to begin with so when I'm awake... I'm awake. Finally did fall asleep again at 10pm for 4 hours of sleep. I am also asked to stay later and infact forced to stay later due to lazy co-workers showing up late. Reguardless I am glad to hear a 3rd person perspective.

Well, it sounds like you bro is just inconsiderate. Depending on your relationship and his rating on the "tool" meter, remind him that you have a crazy schedule and need the house to be relatively quiet so you can sleep.

If that doesn't work, the next question is who is bigger or at least meaner? If it's you, threaten to pound a mud hole in his backside and walk it dry if he doesn't keep it down.

Have you tried earplugs? They probably wouldn't do much good against a home theater but they might help dampen the sound. I know when I'm in the field w/ my reserve unit I always use a set between the snoring from the other guys in the tent and the sound of generators it can be hard to get to sleep.

TiamatFix

I'm sorry, but I would have to kill my brother if that was the case. He needs to grow up and realize that he is not the only one in the house.

I just got my program and I am just waiting for my pull up bar. Once that is here, no excuses. I wish you luck.