Day 1 down, 89 to go... I've read the last 3-4 pages of this thread, and I have to agree that there is more going on here than over on the beachbody forums... I posted this over there, but I figure I'll probably have a lot more luck here!
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I just completed Day 1 of P90X yesterday. I am 33 years old, 5'8", 173 pounds. I am in decent shape, I would like to get down to about 160 or so, but mainly loose the hard beer belly that I'm starting to acquire, build some muscle, and get in shape for softball this spring/summer.
The only time that I have available to workout during the week is at 5am or 9pm after we get the kids to bed. I am not much of a morning person, so I have decided 9pm will work best for me. I have basically settled on eating breakfast around 8am, snack (protein bar/shake) around 10, lunch around noon, snack (protein bar/shake) around 3pm, dinner at 6pm, workout, then ??? Should I have a protein shake or recovery drink after my workout? If so, should this be regardless of what the workout was that day, or only the day 1, 3, 5 workouts (muscle intensive)?
Looking for advice on the recovery drink (P90X or other)... Are they worth it? Right now I am taking EAS Whey Protein that I got at Costco.
So my main questions are.
1 - Is working out around 9pm ok, or should I try to get up at 5am and workout. I would think 5am would be much better if you plan on going to bed shortly after you're done working out. By the time you're done, cooled, off, and showered it's going to be 11-1130. When would you go to bed?
2 - If a night time workout is ok, should I be taking anything directly after, and if so, whey protein or recovery drink? I think the recovery drink is pretty important, especially on the heavier workout days (1, 3, 5).
3 - According to the Nutrition Guide, I am a Level II, and advised to take in around 2400 calories per day. Granted its only been 2 days, but that seems like a lot of calories, and I'm just worried that I am going to have a hard time dropping this gut taking in that amount of calories. I wouldn't skimp on the calories. I found out really quick that I was shortchanging myself on the calories as I too was skeptical (I'm a level III) and had to take in 3,300. I forget which day (it's posted here somewhere) where I bonked pretty hard in the first week. It was pretty obvious that my calorie intake was too low. It is pretty damn hard to eat this many calories.
Thanks in advance to any and all advice that can be provided, both in response to my questions above, or other. I am really determined to see this program through to the end and prove some naysayers wrong! But at the same time, I want to get the most out of these next 89 days, so I am looking for some help!
Thanks!
Lane