Thinking about switching workout plans

[elfs]

I've been doing the "Reach 100" exercise plan for a couple of months now, and I seem to have plateaued out pretty badly. I can't get past set four (of six) no matter how hard I try, and quite frankly the program is rather boring, since it's a highly constrained and repetitive set of moves-- the sort of plan that is conducive to plateauing.

So I've been thinking about switching to another plan, one with a greater range of motion and more cardio (unlike while at Isilon and Grapevyn, there's no way I can bike to work on my current schedule). I just finished a job with a client, so I have a little cash to spare and hey, might even spend some on a program. I seem to be doing okay working out at home these days, oddly enough.

At least two of my friends are doing the 90-day Beachbody program, P90X, and having seen the introductory DVD one of them encouraged me to watch, I'm intrigued by the idea that the exercise patterns they advise prevent plateauing, but I'm exceptionally leery of one major aspect: the website never mentions this, but the introductory video makes a big deal about upsells of branded nutritional products and "supplements." (The link goes to a review that at least mentions the supplements, but also strongly recommends them; he swears that he no longer feels a nap coming on in the afternoon but, you know, maybe he's got that because he's doing the cardio right.)

There's a word for supplements. Well, two words: big placebo. There's also a phrase for the bars and shakes they sell: Edible food-like substances.

I'm not trying to have Mr. Universe branded arms, I just want to improve my knees, my back, and my gut. My instincts tell me that the exercise regime may be right, but the hard sell on extras is too much. Am I wrong about this? Could I do the program just fine by eating, you know, food?

I'm also a little worried about the time investment: Reach 100 takes about a half hour six days a week, but the Beachbody programs are upwards of an hour, six days a week.

Comments

[contrarywise]

You may be interested in this article on sports nutrition products by Krista Scott-Dixon (who maintains a kick-ass weight training site, BTW). I'm reasonably sure that you can do any exercise program without buying food-like substances and get good results.

If you like the program you've been using, swapping out exercises and varying your routine can get you past plateaus and relieve workout boredom. This post and this one list some interesting exercises that you can incorporate into an existing routine. Also, there's Shovelglove and other full-body and "functional" exercises that can supplement a basic program. Plus, there's the bonus awesome presence attack that is you swinging a big sledgehammer around!

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the sports nutrition link. That's more or less what I suspected.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

At work so I can't watch the video, but is there reference that ‘American denialism’ (science is bad) tends to come from things like "Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce."

...because it was SCIENCE that gave us things we couldn't pronounce...

[elfs.livejournal.com]

True, but that's not Pollan's point. Pollan's point is specifically that if a product is being presented to you as "food" and you can't pronounce it, the odds are good that its relationship to the human biochemistry and our environmental needs has been sacrificed to convenience manufacturing and marketing.

Unpronounceable chemicals aren't necessarily a bad thing by themselves-- can you pronounce the chemical names of all the substances found in an egg?-- but on box label they're a warning sign.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

I know, I meant the reverse - does Michael Specter deal with people going to homeopathic because they feel science has tried to destroy them with the evil power that is the Twinkie?

[grum]

The husband of a friend of mine speaks very well of P90x and I sincerely doubt that they buy any branded products. Mostly their feedback is weight based, when he is doing the program he makes weight at his physical check-ups. When he stops doing the program, he puts on weight and then has to lose it rapidly before drill which is never pleasant.