Conclusion: I am putting the conclusion up front for those that may not want to read the whole blog. It is plain and simple. While I don’t believe P90x specifically develops the muscles for riding condition, it does build all the muscles that support riding. I am doing longer, faster and harder training rides much more quickly than I was last spring when I did not do P90x. I have gone from nill to riding a tough and hilly 60 mile course in 3.5 weeks of training only 3 days per week. Tues/Thurs I do a 20 mile road ride and I do a long tough ride on the weekend (Wknd 1 = 16 miles, Wknd 2 = 35 miles & Wknd 3 = 60 miles). I also recover more quickly during the ride and after. I am not sore and worn out for days like I was in the past, but I am ready to rock and roll the next day. Bottom line …P90x is an excellent base for spring training and has certainly enhanced my training this year.

I think it is also worth noting I discovered the importance of eating a balanced diet and using recovery drinks after a workout. I did not use a recovery drink the first couple weeks of P90x and noticed an immediate difference when I started using one. I have fallen for Mike’s Mix Recovery drink. It is simple, tastes great in original or chocolate flavor and it is the most reasonably priced high quality recovery drink I could find. I highly recommend it.

To set the stage: I had not ridden a bike since last summer (2010). I trained and ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon the beginning of November 2010 and then I sat on my duff for a month before I started P90x. While I was in decent physical condition I had some weight to lose and my fitness level for riding was pretty well nill by that point.

I started P90x the beginning of December 2010 and followed the classic routine. I got some rollers for Christmas and didn’t actually put them together and hop on the rollers until late January and then I was a bit sporadic and only getting on the bike once a week for 30 minutes …not very impressive. My first riding event is the Sub 9 Death March in the Hoosier National Forest (Indiana) on March 12. The anticipated length of the ride is 45 – 50 miles on mountain bikes. While Indiana does not have mountains, southern Indiana where this event occurs is covered in steep hills that challenge even accomplished riders. While one or two hills may not make you flinch, they keep hitting you through the whole ride. Getting back to the point …6 weeks is not a long time to go from nill to a 45-50 mile race. The next race on the books is the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR) in May and then, maybe, Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell (ORAMM) in July.

Weekend 1 (2/6/2011): I fully believed after the tough leg routines and cardio workouts in P90x I would be able to hop on the bike and tackle anything …boy was I wrong. I did a couple 45 minute rides on the rollers the first week of February and my first real mountain bike ride the first weekend in February. I rode with my brother-in-law to and around the MTB trail at Grandview Lake. There are a couple nice hills on the road portion and the MTB trail is steep and tough requiring some hike-a-bike (it is mainly a hiking trail and not designed for biking …but biking is allowed). By the time we did the circumference of the lake and got back on the road home we were at about 12 miles with a 4 mile ride home. There is one tough hill on the ride and by then I was struggling …not with cardio …but with climbing …my legs were killing me. I was disappointed, but not surprised after thinking it through. P90x, while increasing strength, was certainly not working the muscles in the same way they are worked while biking.

One thing to note is the order of workouts in P90x puts Yoga X on Thursday, Legs and Back on Friday and Kenpo X on Saturday …all of these are tough on the legs, so my riding was suffering a bit due to worn out legs. I quickly made the decision to adjust the Phase 3 routine as follows: Cut Plyometrics and replace with a ride, Cut Legs and Back on Friday, Move Yoga X to Friday and ride on Thursday. Keep Kenpo X on the weekends, but after my long ride. This change seemed to make a big difference in how I felt on the ride.

Weekend 2 (2/20/2011): I kept to my new routine with a ride on the rollers Tues/Thurs …about 45 minutes to an hour each day. I chose an easier route about 35 miles on the road and riding my MTB with long and gradual ups/downs and very little elevation change overall. The ride felt great despite the wind kicking my ass. This time last year I would not have been able to complete a ride this length this early in the season.  I also would not have averaged 18.8MPH. I hovered around 16MPH last year.

Weekend 3 (2/26/2011): Again, I kept to the two rides during the week and capped it with a long and grueling 60 mile ride on my road bike. The first 25 miles of the ride was quite flat and quick. I was averaging 23 – 25MPH on the flats and able to maintain 21MPH or so on the slight inclines. Once I hit the 25 mile mark I was on a road that is steep rolling hills for about 10 miles followed by a long 2 and intermittently steep 2 mile climb. The rest of the ride was about the same with a couple of flat sections to rest the muscles followed by steep and long climbs. I was solid until about 45 miles into the ride and then I really started to test my will power to keep riding. I felt like someone was digging a rake into my muscles and tearing them apart. I finished the ride in 3:40 at an average 16.4MPH, which I was quite happy with considering it is only my third long ride of the season. I know, for a fact, I could not have ridden this ride without the base P90x training.

DAA

It is fun to look at my progress at this point as well. I look at the wide front pull-ups and see that I could not even do one at the beginning of the program without the support of a chair and now I am up to 7 …this has always been my hardest pull-up. I went from 6 or 7 regular pull-ups to 25 -26 each time. It is still hard …I am just pushing/pulling more weight.

I definitely see a difference in the mirror. While I have not lost a significant amount of weight, I didn’t have a lot to lose and I have gained quite a bit of muscle back in my upper body.

The diet is much easier for me to manage this round with a broader selection of food types. It is a much more balanced plan. Now, to be honest, I have struggled with maintaining the diet as of late …especially with my daughter in Girl Scouts this year. I do keep it limited to a couple of cookies per day …but it should really be zero to stick with the plan. I am still using Mike’s Mix Recovery Drink and the Pure Protein bars as a snack. I recently found Kroger grocery store has the best selection of Pure Protein bars and they often run a sale of 10 for $10 which is a pretty good price.

At the beginning of this phase it was time for me to get more serious about training for my spring riding events. I don’t typically have the time for two workouts in a day so I chose to cut out Plyometrics on Tuesday and Legs and Back on Friday (This is a tough routine and it was killing me on performance for my long weekend rides). I shifted Yoga X to Friday morning and still do Kenpo on the weekends. I feel this is a much more balanced workout plan so I am not burnt out before my first event in March.

I have to say I feel much stronger on the bike this spring having done P90x …I will have another blog shortly to discuss.

Yet again, I have to say I am happy with P90x and will certainly pick it up again after the riding season to stay in good health and physical shape through the winter next year. This is a life changing plan.

Every workout is hard! Every single one. Get plenty of sleep so you can really “Bring It” to every routine. The more you put in the more you get out. I saw remarkable improvement in both the weight sizes I used and the number of pull ups I could do. I feel remarkably stronger after only 4 weeks.

My waistline is slimmer and I can see the beginnings of a six pack now! I don’t miss snacking anymore. I don’t miss all the non-essential foods. In the end, I still missed having more carbs than protein, but that changed in the phase 2 portion plan for me (Level 2) and I feel the diet is more balanced now. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the philosophy of the diet and the need for the extra protein to help build muscle. I think it is critical to follow the diet plan if you want the best results. Just look for alternatives to eating lunch meat or lean chicken or turkey everyday!

My wife and I do a lot of the routines together and we really enjoy spending that time together and pushing each other harder through each workout and correcting each other if our form is off. It is also routine for our young kids now, so they just chalk it up as part of the normal day.

We are still loving the Mike’s Mix Recovery Drink after every workout. We moved from the Clif Builder’s Bars to the Pure Protein bars. We like the flavor a little better and they are slightly cheaper. We buy them at Sam’s Club or Target.

We made the decision to get some of our protein through protein powder instead of meat. We went with the Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein you can buy on Amazon. We went with the chocolate malt flavor and we like it. I like it a lot better when I mix it with milk than water, but it is good either way.

The new element I have added is riding my bike on rollers in addition to the workouts. I do several riding events in the spring and I need to get some base miles. I can tell the difference in how well my training is starting this year compared to last year when I just sat on my duff all winter! I feel strong and ready to compete even though I have just started riding. I am really looking forward to the events this year. You will need to add some calories to the diet to compensate for this additional calorie burn. I chose to add some protein instead of carbs or fruit. I know this is counterintuitive to what I said above about feeling like there is too much protein, but a protein shake is pretty good after 30 -60 minutes on the rollers!

I thought after the first month Phase 2 would get easier since I am stronger, but boy was I wrong. The routines change, as they should, and that confuses your muscles which keeps them growing. P90X keeps you from plateauing by changing up the routines. I struggled through the routines this week just like I did in the past. Granted, I was doing heavier weights and more pull ups, but it was new and hard!

Overall, we are still extremely happy with our decision to do P90X and both of us think it will become a lifetime routine. We enjoy Tony Horton’s humor and think he is good at motivating and keeping you going.

DAA

My typical yearly routine is to start out biking on the trainer in early January to get ready for some riding events into the early summer and then I switch to running for a marathon or two in the fall. While you would think that would keep me in great physical condition, I don’t vary my diet all that much and continue eating a lot. My weight tends to fluctuate down to about 172lbs or so but I never really tone up or feel stronger. My cardio is excellent, but I don’t have the core strength to match it. Over the past few years my lower back is starting to ache when I ride on the road and I know it has to do with my core strength. I do some core strength exercises from time to time, but never with much gusto!

This past autumn, my wife and I decided it was time to change our lives for the long term …to be more fit, more energetic and stronger in the sports we pursue. We (my wife mostly) did a lot of research into the best home fitness programs and we landed on P90x. Why? Because we didn’t want to spend the money on a gym membership …Because people get results and we read quite a few blogs and studies that athletic performance drastically increased after P90x …Because we were both bored with the same old routine and feeling wimpy and out of shape … and because we wanted something different …something to motivate us to change our lives and found this to be the best avenue.

We took the plunge about 3 weeks ago and purchased the push up bars, the pull up bar, some free weights and the Recovery drink and protein bars ( I will cover those last two later in this blog). We also made the commitment to follow the P90x diet plans. A friend of mine that did P90x last spring told me the effort is fruitless without the diet plan. We are not following the recipe plans, but we are watching our portions and following the counts on proteins, carbs, fruit, veggies and etc… just as stated in the plan.

We started last Monday with the first workout …it was brutal and my body hated it …but loved every minute of it. I have always had a love/hate relationship with hard workouts …it is a struggle, but in the end, when I can barely lift my arms over my head to wash my hair, I am satisfied that I worked my ass off and I can feel it through my whole body.

I am in the middle of week 2 and I have already dropped from 185lbs to 181lbs. My sides feel more firm and I am energized through the day without any caffeine (I detoxed from caffeine prior to P90x).

The first couple of days we did not have a recovery drink. Let me tell you …it makes a huge difference in how quickly your body recovers from the workouts …I tried chocolate milk and that just didn’t cut it. The P90x formula is pretty expensive and we wanted to look around town at the local GNC/Vitamin Shoppe stores to see what they offer. All of them are expensive! So, we turned to the net and did some research to find Mike’s Mix Recovery Drink. The best price is directly ordering from Mike’s website. He expands by word of mouth and not advertising to keep his price down and he has a great blog. I noticed a difference the first day I used Mike’s Mix and I am hooked. It has a light sweet flavor and mixes with a spoon in cold water. I have used other recovery drinks in the past, but this is the best one I have used.

We have tried the Clif Builder’s Bars and the Pure Protein Bars. We like them both and they are available at Sam’s Club at a better price than we could find online.

Overall, we are happy with our decision.

DAA

All too often buildings go up around us and we never stop to think about the effort and individual commitment put into them. Particularly buildings like The Palladium. This style of design and construction just doesn’t happen very often any more and that is a shame. I think too many buildings go up as a shell to work in, but don’t contribute any beauty or intrigue to the community around them.

My hometown is a rare example of a community committed architecture. Columbus, IN is consistently listed as one of the most architecturaly significant towns in the United States. I have lived in many different communities over the years and often found myself missing that architecture.

While there is a lot of dispute about the decisions made by the governing body in Carmel, IN, I think it is a beautiful vision to create a community for the arts and architecture.

DAA

My most recent experience with this was training for the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race in Brevard, NC. I needed to be ready for 50-70 miles of trail riding, so I started training in February and got into a routine of riding 25 – 45 miles on the road bike Tuesday/Thursday mornings with a long, 4 – 5 hour, mountain bike ride on the weekends. I always taper before and event, so I drastically reduced my mileage the two weeks before the event.

The event went off without a hitch ..mostly! We took two wrong turns and ended up riding 91.5 miles. I was surprisingly not overly sore the next day.

Most of the soreness from the race was gone a couple days later, but I decided to force myself to take a full week, maybe 2 off. I went out for a short road ride just to stretch my legs the 2nd week after and this week I am getting back into my routine. I am on a mission to ride the Brown County DINO race in June and the Offroad Assualt on Mt. Mitchell (Old Fort, NC) in July.

The most interesting thing to me after a break is how much stronger I feel and it is always fun to see the results. My average road riding speed prior to my 2 week reprieve was in the range of 16.5 – 17.1 MPH and my latest ride average was 18.1MPH. It is always a good feeling to see improvement.

DAA

My latest project is decommissioning my 2006 Gary Fisher 29er. It has been a good bike, but it is time to move on. I got a Niner S.I.R. 9 frame for Christmas and I am starting to build it up now. I have a Chris King headset on my Fisher and I certainly don’t want to give that up so I needed the tools to remove and re-install a headset. These tools are not all that expensive and you can by them for around $70 or so for both. I considered buying the tools or spending the $30 at my LBS to have them removed/pressed in. Then my brother-in-law mentioned he has seen threads on MTBR.com that talk about making your own tools on the cheap. So …I took this route. It was really very simple and I used both tools tonight and they worked flawlessly.

Headset Press Tool:

1 – 1/2″ all thread 8″ – 12″ long.
2 – 1/2″ nuts
16 – 2″ fender washers for 1/2″ all thread (you could do with less of these)

And that is it! That is all it takes to build the press. I bought all the parts at Lowe’s for less than $4.00! Simply put one (1) nut on one end of the all thread, put on 1/2 the washers, put in the cup you are placing on the bike first (make sure you grease it), put the all thread through the head of the bike (depending on the cup, you may need to put the cup on after you put it through the head, put on the other 1/2 of the washers, put on the other nut and now you just use 3/4″ wrenches to tighten the nuts and press in the cup …remove one nut and the washers and repeat for the other cup.

Headset Cup Removal Tool:

1 – 3/4″ x 12″ copper pipe (about $6.00)

Cut one end of the pipe twice (with a hacksaw) about three inches down so it is split into quarters. Using pliers, bend each piece outward to spread out the end. Next, I bent the bottom 1/2″ of each tab slightly back in towards the center of the pipe to straighten it. You might want to file off some of the sharp edges where you cut the pipe with a hacksaw. Now, all you have to do is squeeze the pieces together with your hand as you put it in the head of the bike, push it down so it rests on the headset cup and use a hammer (I used a rubber mallet) to drive it out. Repeat for the other cup.

So, I pull off the wheel, remove the blown tube and then do a finger check on the inside of the tire to make sure whatever popped it is not still sticking through. I don’t find anything and proceed to put in the new tube.

I am excited because it is the first time I get to use my new CO2 cartridge pump for a quick refill. As the tire fills, right in front of my face I start to see the reason why the first tube popped. The tires are old (1274 miles old) and I see a small slit in the tire getting larger. I quickly try to release the CO2 from the valve so I can relieve the pressure, but alas, I was too late. My new tube blew up right in my face.  Had I been able to stop it, I think I could have limped home using the old trick of putting a $1 bill inside the tire where the split occured to protect the tube.

I knew the rear tire was on its last legs and had honestly planned to go and buy a tire after work today, but I was just a little too late. Oh well, I am glad I was heading up hill and not down …that could have spelled disaster.

Four calls in a row and I wake up my wife who comes to pick me up. Thanks to her I didn’t have to walk 5 miles back to the house and still try to get to work on time.

I did buy a new tire and two spare tubes at lunch today.

The moral: Don’t put off till tomorrow that which you know you should do today!

DAA

• Don’t want to get out of bed
• Don’t feel good until I have some caffeine (mainly coffee)
• Drink coffee with breakfast rather than orange juice
• Dependent on caffeine to start the morning and keep me going through the afternoon
• Dependent on caffeine to think clearly and concentrate
• Snack more often
• Tired and groggy anytime I don’t get the caffeine fix
• Can be irritable until I get coffee in the morning
• Trouble sleeping soundly
• Less healthy eating habits
• Often feel dehydrated because I drink more coffee/tea than water
• Addicted.

Withdrawal:

• Tired and groggy
• No concentration
• No energy
• Lack of motivation
• Steady headache
• Feel like the day is incomplete without morning coffee

Me off caffeine:

• Ready to get up and start the day
• Orange juice with breakfast rather than coffee
• Drink water steadily through the day rather than coffee/tea
• Don’t feel tired, groggy and just waiting for the caffeine to kick in
• Don’t need caffeine to get me through the afternoon (don’t need it at all for that matter)
• No withdrawal when I miss a dose of caffeine
• Don’t feel dehydrated
• Less inclined or wanting to snack
• Free of an addiction

I feel better, eat better and generally live better when I am not using caffeine to fuel my body through the day even when I am going on little sleep due to the kids or a late night out. My body just feels more balanced , less stressed and I consistently feel better through every day. I have the will power to kick any habit or addiction, but caffeine seems to slowly creep back into my life one sip at a time and before I know it I am at the top of the hill again struggling to stay awake and focus when I don’t have my dose of caffeine …I don’t like it.

At one point, when I was on a particularly stressful project 2.5 years ago working about 14 hours per day, I was drinking coffee from sun up to the time I left work. Typically I would down a cup just to stay awake for the trip home. I bet I was drinking 6 to 8 – 12 ounce cups per day and when I made the coffee it was a double strength.

I quit cold turkey and suffered miserably for about 5 days and then the clouds parted and the sun shined down. I made it 8 months until I was on another stressful project with long hours and felt the caffeine was necessary to keep me going.

Lately, the ups and downs are a lot shorter and it’s time to quit again. I just don’t like chemical dependencies to feel moderately good and function through the day. I don’t think caffeine is bad for the body in moderation …in fact, there is a lot of research that shows caffeine is linked to longer memory retention and delays the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. One or two 8 ounce cups of tea or coffee are also known to have beneficial antioxidants for the body. The benefits come from use in moderation …which a lot of people don’t understand. Moderation is one or two 8oz cups per day …an 8oz cup is pretty small.

Too much coffee or tea can be harmful to the body and even cause ulcers in the worst case due to their acidity. There are not nearly as many articles on the down sides to caffeine and the high consumption of the beverages that contain it …and why would there be when caffeine is a multi-billion dollar industry. There is plenty of money to support research pro-caffeine, but few companies are going to support scientific research against caffeine?

Caffeine is also linked to a craving for sweets and carbs due to raising the stress hormone cortisol which tells your body to increase energy stores and that explains my increased desire to snack. My snacking during the day decreases dramatically when I am not on caffeine.

I enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea, but I think it will be decaf from now on. I am done using caffeine to get me through the day. My reliance on caffeine to keep me going is over. I’m done and I am not looking back.

DAA

• My trip to Page, AZ in July was a good time, but I did get stuck in the sand on a road in the middle of a wilderness area (There is another story as to why I was stuck, but that is another blog someday). The nearest civilization of any sort (Paria Contact Station) was a mere 25 miles where the first 2 miles is a sandy single lane mountain road (When I say sandy,  I mean 6″ to 8″ deep sand) followed by about 20 miles on a poorly maintained dirt road and ending with 3 miles of paved highway. The nearest town is about 30 miles and the nearest cell phone service (Verizon doesn’t cover the middle of nowhere AZ) is about 40 miles in Page, AZ. So, here I am in the middle of the desert smoking my transmission trying to rock the car enough to gain traction. It didn’t happen, but I was in luck when one of the forest rangers showed up on a normal routine round …helped me dig out (I did have my own shovel!) and taught me to put sticks and debris under the tires for traction. I was pretty worried because the tranny was smoking a bit when I was trying to rock it out and I feared I had done some damage (yes, I know …not the smartest decision). A further part of the story …we had a new clutch installed in the car about 8 months earlier and it never really felt right. It always shimmied and ground a little on takeoff and it was quite annoying. Well, my burning the clutch fixed the issue. The car has been shifting well ever since, so something positive came from that bad experience (although I may have shortened the life of the clutch …oh well)

• My trip to Indiana this week: Typically I rent the mid range car for a reasonable price and I don’t need a large vehicle, but I asked the lady at the counter if they were running any good deals for an upgrade. She told me I could get a luxury SUV for a mere $18, so I accepted. It is a GMC Acadia (While I am not a big fan of GMC vehicles, this one is really really nice). So, I have way more vehicle than I need, but it is nice to drive and the cost was minimal. Turns out, it was a great decision. I got a phone call at 8:45pm that the person my brother-in-law was riding with was coming down a steep grade, hit a pot hole and went over the bars around 30MPH and has a banged up knee, shoulder and a concussion. I had to go pick them up. I would never have gotten two bikes and two passengers in a mid size car, so my last minute decision to get the SUV happened for a reason.

DAA