(Part 2) Top products from r/P90X

I'm glad you reached out. This is a small subreddit, but there are many enthusiastic participants.

First of all, the most important thing for you is to establish consistency. If you'll be more consistent with weights over bands (or vice versa) pick the one that you'll do.

I personally prefer weights because they are harder, I feel like I can precisely perform the movement that I want, and It is also easy to track progress. 5 pound increments are easier for me to track then inches and loops and colors on bands.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with bands. If those are your only option, use them! Using bands is infinitely better than doing nothing.

Regarding pullups, I was in the same situation as you. I used a door frame bar that just chewed up my landlord's door frame. When I moved into my new house, I decided to not repeat that mistake and I bought a pullup tower instead.

This is the pullup tower I bought. I got it for $40.00 on Craigslist and it has been more than adequate. The additional dip bars and pullup bars have been very useful for P90X workouts as well.

Finally, nice job not letting your illness be an excuse. That's admirable.

This wiki/blog post is helpful but here is a past comment I made as an answer:

• 
  A fitness mat (thicker) is nice for the plyo day (easier on the knees) but you otherwise want a thinner mat (e.g., yoga mat).
  
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  Resistance bands or weights. I have bands and might break down and buy weights. It is just easier and more intuitive. They are fairly expensive though...
  
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  Pull-up bar. I think this bar works well and it's not too hard to put together. Bonus: bands.
  
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  Chair for certain exercises.
  
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  Yoga blocks. I have not used them and you can get away without them but I can see their use. They make stretches easier (or harder) and are demonstrated in p90x.
  
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  Protein shake and bars. I hear the p90x products are actually very good but they're definitely expensive. I opted for Optimum Nutrition Whey Powder with a cheap blender bottle and these bars after a little research on /r/fit and google.
  
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  Lots of water and even more motivation! It feels like such an accomplishment after each day though. Off to go do Plyo for week 3!
  
  Ninja Edit: Heart rate monitor and push up bars are two very optional but very useful items that I plan to invest in soon.

I use the Iron Gym as well, and I remember that there was an insert in the box to order extenders for extra wide doorways.

While looking for a link for them online, I found some extenders on Amazon, but the reviews are terrible. However, someone posted this DIY version in the reviews, and several people commented on how good it works. Makes sense:


I junked them and instead made my own extension bars that have worked out GREAT! I purchased two 1/2" by 12" steel tubes from my local hardware store (plumbing section) and slid them into each end after removing the end caps. They slide in perfectly and stop when they hit a set of screws. To tighten the fit and to make them just a little bit longer, I used electrical tape and taped three nickels to each end and slid them again again (nickel side first). Perfect! Then I just put the end caps on the the exposed threaded end of the steel tube (the end caps go OVER the steel tube) and slid the piece of foam back over the exposed steel. You would never even be able to tell that these were extended!

The bottom line is that if you door is too wide for the door gym (which again is an AWESOME product), don't stress, but also don't buy these. 1/2" steel tubing works great, can be had for under five bucks and can be as long or as short as you need them to be.

It was further expanded upon by another user:

I did exactly as he said, bought 2) 13"x 1/2" black pipes, put them in the hole, and electrically taped them together when the original bar ended and the home bought bar protruded. However, I found a much better solution to the nickels. Instead, I used 3/4" white rubber chair leg tips to go over the exposed end of the bar. Works great!!!! Don't buy the extenders! The bars, tape, and rubber tips cost only $5.34!

Go here if you feel you need to upvote the original reviews.

PS: someone above linked you to Higdon's website, but I can't recommend this book enough: http://www.amazon.com/Marathon-The-Ultimate-Training-Guide/dp/1594861994 --This was my training bible in the time leading up to the race (and after the race, too). He has chapters on every little thing including nutrition, injuries, what to expect in the race, how to prepare yourself mentally, what to expect from your body while you're training, etc. Love love love that book. It also has the added benefit of making you feel really excited about running as you read it :o)

So I'm in month 3 of the p90x/Insanity hybrid workout with added cardio thrown in for good measure. While it's a super tough regimen, it is do-able and you'll get better results than your standard p90x routine. A couple of things though:

• Look into getting a dumbbell set. You can get one at walmart or amazon for pretty cheap here's a set from amazon
  
  here's a cheaper set from walmart that I use with addition weights thrown on (Also if you decide to get these, use a pair of gloves or some kind of hand protection when using them because they're kind of small and gave me blisters after extensive use)
  
  I used to use bands when I first started out because I didn't have dumbbells, and while they're useful to an extent if you don't have much of a physical base to start out with, you're not gonna get the results you want.
  
  
• Before you start the hybrid, make sure you can handle it physically. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what you can and can't do, but use your best judgement because it's not gonna be easy, especially around month 3. Know what you can do, set the bar higher than that, but don't set yourself up to fail
  
  
• Honestly, scheduling has always been the hardest part for me with these p90x style workouts. You have to devote anywhere from 45-90 minutes per workout every day for 3 months (granted you could substitute the yoga day with a rest day like I did, but that's personal preference) and it's tough if you have an already busy schedule with school, work, or social obligations. Again, use your best discretion.
  
  here's a link the the hybrid worksheet

Here's what I'm doing right now and it's keeping my weight steady with positive muscle gains after only 3 weeks of P90X (I've got some fat and am trying to burn it without losing weight):

Syntha 6 (slower digesting protein)

• 1 scoop 3 times a day
  
  Protein isolate
  
  
• 1 scoop (around 20g protein) with breakfast
  
• 1 scoop 30 minutes before workout
  
• 1 scoop right after workout
  
  Creatine Ethyl Ester (no loading time for ethyl ester)
  
  
• 30 minutes before workout
  
• right after workout
  
  Force Factor (nitric oxide, I got myself a trial bottle)
  
  
• 30 minutes before workout
  
  Water
  
  
• Drinks lots of water throughout the day
  
  Along with my normal protein-based diet (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, beans), this takes my protein intake to 225g-300g per day. I think 300g would get you around the point of bulking up
  
  Also, for all the weight lifting exercises, I choose a heavy enough weight to where I can't do more than 10 reps. If you're doing more than ten then get more weight. Try modifying the high-rep weight routines in the video to ones that are 8-10 reps.
  
  By the way, I'm just a normal dude, not an expert. I'm curious to see what your results are and I might borrow your routine when I'm done with P90X because I prefer working out at home myself. Good luck!

I'm at about 3200, occasionally a little more. Just started body beast so the macros are a little different.

Breakfast: 3/4 cup of oatmeal with a couple tablespoons of raisins and 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese. Espresso with milk. 425 Calories.

Post work out shake: Frozen banana, cup of frozen berries, 1/2 cup powdered oatmeal, two scoops of Muscle Milk protein powder. 700 Calories

Lunch: Today is 2.5 cups of a crockpot shrimp, chicken, sausage gumbo and half an avocado. 900 calories.

Snack: Clif Builder bar. 270 Calories.

Dinner: 3.5 cups of crockpot beef stew. Usually eaten in two servings hours apart. Cup slices of whole wheat bread with some olive oil. Calories 950.

Macros:
31% protein. 257 grams.
45% carbs. 371 grams
24% fat. 87grams.

Crockpot recipes are great when you are eating more. I use a recipe book similar to this one. Each recipe is usually simple and very healthy. It lists the nutritional value of each meal, so it's very easy to find something that works with your diet.

Sounds like one would work on your super wide doors. I had the same issue at my old apartment and this is what I got - solved all my problems.

I got the creative fitness pull up bar: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029A7C0/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0002ZDINO&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0VF8MVQ3KJNA63M83FQY

And then I got the extensions: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Fitness-Door-Extension-Bars/dp/B0002ZDINO

If you have a door that is wider than what that can provide you, then it must be a garage door

OP, I second the hot-plate/single burner idea: link. You'd be great if you can pick up one of these and one pot and a pan.

You can check out /r/eatcheapandhealthy and look at their advice for kitchen-less cooking. Focus on frozen veggies (your mini fridge should have a mini freezer) like broccoli, store leafy greens in the mini-fridge, and look for already-cooked proteins like rotisserie chickens (but then watch your sodium intake since those things are brined before cooked). Seems like you're in a tough spot, but it will just take some creative thinking.

I drink this stuff after every workout. With water it is chuggable (but has a bit of a metallic aftertaste). With milk it tastes pretty good. In a shake with milk, a frozen banana, ice cubes, and some peanut butter it is delicious!

Also a ton of gluten, which is processed and stored as fat more efficiently in the body than white 'table' sugar. Best would be to find those nutrients in non-bread sources.

If you're eating well and exercising you probably don't have to worry about the sugar content of your food, but everything we're learning about bread suggests it's better off out of your diet.

Source

I'd recommend resistance bands over dumbbells if you are budget-minded.

I liked these alot:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7245456453

But you may want to consider getting indivual bands with their own handles to make it easier to change out resistances.

I read previously that upright rows are only potentially dangerous when using a straight barbell because of the position of your arms. It isn't an issue when using dumbbells as in P90X. Here's a source: Dumbbell upright rows

For adjustables, I'm trying to get my hands on Ironmasters. They are much closer to the feel and form factor of actual dumbells without the ganky plastic parts, and you can use the plates on a special EZ Curl bar, also from Ironmaster. This makes them ideal for Body Beast. The price is about the same as PowerBlocks.

http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Fitness-31011-Basic-Pullup/dp/B008DNAKQK

The picture of it with the guy is more accurate of what it is.

My girlfriend uses it and I think it works pretty good. If you are renting it should be pretty easy to repair any screw holes. Bands will work, but nothing beats the real thing.

Thanks for all your help. I ended up going with this one - http://www.amazon.com/Black-Mountain-Products-Heavy-Resistance/dp/B003V5JQ2O/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1310606536&sr=1-5. First day on Saturday!

Calcium Citrate - 2 pills a day

Metabolol 2 - 1 scoop in a glass of water only after resistance training

Nutrigrain - 1 a day to make sure I get enough sugars

FiberOne - One bar a day

some people are happy with this also:

power tower, amazon.com

I have the Lifeline USA bands and they work great. You'll use 2-3 bands for a bicep exercise and then 1 band for a triceps exercise. You can leave all 3 bands on at once you just "step" on however many bands you want to use.


Edit - they're 30lbs. each band not sure why Amazon says 40.

Rice, but there are other options as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Nutribiotic-Rice-Protein-Vegan-Vanilla/dp/B00014DLC4

I stay motivated by having random assholes on the internet tell me, "Suck it up you baby, no one likes a fat ass!"

I also use this alarm clock to help me wake up. It's spendy but worth every penny, especially in the winter.

A twist in the print edition is that the ad next to the article is for Tony's new book, released yesterday.

You may think it curious that ShortWoman is reading Men's Health. It turns out she is married to a man who happens to have a subscription.

Here is the mobile version of your link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q12JC9S/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_EANUDbYGN3XBS