Your Power 90X Questions Answered

My Tony Horton biography, Tony Horton One On One Exclusive Interview, and Beachbody reviews at Healthy New Age have been garnering many questions from readers. HeartCore Corporation has assigned me the job of answering all questions. So if you're a P90X user, or you're interested in finding out more about the hottest fitness and fat loss system today, head on over and ask what you want to know.

Weighted Warrior - Tony Horton's New Shoulder Blaster



The Making of Power 90X Chapter One



For more of The Making of Power 90X click here.

Tony Horton's Official Blog

The remarkable Tony Horton, creator of Power 90, Power 90X, Power 90X Plus, Great Body Guaranteed, Tony Horton One On One, has opened his official blog right here on Blogger. Check out his latest, 'Food. It's that thing that's killing you, slowly.'

My Exclusive One on One Interview with Tony Horton

Tony Horton is the fitness mastermind behind revolutionary Beachbody programs like Power 90, Power 90X, Power 90X Plus, 10 Minute Trainer, One On One With Tony Horton, and Great Body Guaranteed.

I've reviewed many of his workouts here and recently spoke to him on the phone for an exclusive interview. To read my interview with Tony, published by HeartCore Corporation at their Healthy New Age website, click here.

To read my biography on Tony Horton click here.

Check Out Healthy New Age

Healthy New Age is an informative, beautifully constructed and maintained website. Owned and ran by Kirk VandenBerghe & Sandy Breckenridge of HeartCore Corporation, they cover a wide variety of health topics including natural alternative medicine, holistic healing, acupuncture, Reiki, Ayurveda, fitness, emotional healing with EFT, herbal and nutritional supplements, and so much more. There's something here for virtually everyone.

Coolest of all they've hired me as a freelance writer and my first piece "Power Your Way To Fitness" review is now on their 'Bodybuilding With Tony Horton' page. Make sure to check it out as it's exclusive to Healthy New Age and you will never see it anywhere else.

Happy Fourth Of July, Recipes & Links

Happy 4th Of July!

May we remember this weekend that one of our greatest blessings is freedom.

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower


Liberty is the possibility of doubting, of making a mistake,... of searching and experimenting,... of saying No to any authority - literary, artistic, philosophical, religious, social, and even political. ~Ignazio Silone, The God That Failed, 1950


Liberty: One of Imagination's most precious possessions. ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Here’s a few recipes you can whip up for any Summer barbecue or bash from my book “Weight Loss That Works” – soon available by eBook.

Spiced Pepper Salad

1 cup each: red, yellow and green bell pepper slices
¾ cup sweet onion (Walla Walla, Vidalia, or Maui) slices
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover and chill 1 hour before serving. Makes 4 servings. 1 serving equals 1 cup. Nutritional Information: Calories: 70 Carbs: 9 grams, Fat: 4 grams, Protein 2 grams.

Gulf Coast Garlic Shrimp

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 (4 ounces) cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh parsley

Spray a nonstick skillet with non fat cooking spray. Add red pepper, garlic, bay leaf and sauté a minute. Add shrimp and salt, sauté 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from skillet. Add wine and parsley, bring to a boil, and cook about a minute until reduced to 1/4 cup. Return shrimp to skillet, toss to coat. Discard bay leaf. Makes 4 servings. 1 serving equals 1/4 of shrimp and sauce.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 218, Carbs: 4 grams, Fat: 3 grams, Protein 43 grams.

Links

Here’s a must read link for you. Mark McManus’ How To Build Muscle And Burn Fat At The Same Time

Tony Horton’s Newest “One On One Training" video number one "Plyo Legs" (in a series) is available. I ordered mine this morning. This product isn’t listed in the website’s products yet! This is an early bird offer sent to Power 90X grads, so take advantage now.


Let’s revisit a classic by Dave Draper, THE SECRET IS THERE IS NO SECRET

There are basically two types of people who use weight training for fitness. Type A, the driven and type B, the not-so-driven. Though the degrees of difference vary, I know that for those of you of the A type, it would be an act of cruelty to keep you from your workout - an absolute impossibility, like stopping the movement of a glacier or the stampede of wild horses.

And then there are amongst you of the B type, neither lazy nor irresponsible, who can't seem to make it to the gym (or the garage) on a regular basis. You have a long list of reasons why you can't and some of them are even pretty good. It is to this larger half of the population to whom I speak.

To be effective, exercise must be consistent. This is the first and foremost precept of physical conditioning. If there's a secret, it's consistency. Don't quote me on this, but I believe bad exercise, badly executed consistently is far better than no exercise at all. Getting to the gym whether you want to or not, even for a short appearance, a salute or a bow is vitally important to the health of your fitness lifestyle. A break in consistency leads to the erosion of your training foundations, and without sound foundations no structure will stand. Read more.

And check out Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Tips


Enjoy you holiday!

Another Whoosh! Yes! And A GT Xpress Product Review With Recipe

I've been having a brief affair with water and lime. And I've given up anything with added or excessive sodium. Water and lime introduced me to the bathroom who has been my close companion for two days now. I seem to be sloughing off water weight at a steady pace. This morning I'm down to 116 pounds, only two above where I was before my brief affair with bacon and Saltines. Yeah! Body fat percentage is at 20 percent, not bad after a month of erratic eating and no exercise.

Yesterday's workout - my first since February 20th - went well. Jerry asked me afterwards if I felt I lost any ground. No. I did my first 10 Minute Trainer and actually stopped the DVD during each move to do extra. I basically turned a 10 Minute workout into a 20 minute workout. In addition to the 10 Minute Total Body I did 50 minutes of aerobic circuit training. Today's workout will be more aerobics. I haven't decided what yet.

My calories yesterday were way too low at 1316 calories and only 65 grams of protein. I ended up missing my late afternoon snack due to a busier than usual afternoon and evening. My BMR is 1260 so I should never go below 1500 calories, especially on workout days. I'm sore today from the Total Body workout which included multiple sets of push ups, bicep curls, overhead and bent over tricep moves, back rows, crunches, and more. Going to aim for more protein and calories today which is in line with 'The Cheat To Lose Diet'. More on that later. I'm officially on the program now and this is day three.

Breakfast this morning was another egg and veggie omelet. I'm making them in our GT Xpress cooker. It's fast and easy, and particularly convenient in the morning when I'm time crunched getting an eight year old ready for school and feeding myself, him, two dogs, 9 cats, 3 fish, and a horse. Just mix together the ingredients (recipe below), pour in the cooker and cook about 8 minutes depending on how brown you want the outside. Not to mention you almost cannot burn food with it. It has a thermostat and I've literally walked away to do a chore and forgot it only to come back and find my food hot, perfect, and waiting.

I love these GT Xpress cookers (you automatically get two for $40 plus shipping, which is great for families as you can cook four things at once). They're fool proof and convenient, and wipe clean after every use. You can cook nearly anything in them from eggs, chicken, beef, sandwiches, wraps, vegetables, and desserts (not going there right now). I definitely recommend the GT Xpress for anyone who's too busy to cook but doesn't want to rely on dubious quality packaged dinners (Lean Cuisine, South Beach, Nutrisystem, etc). I'm in their cookbook club and have a stack of them.

Protein Packed Fast Omelets

4 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/3 cup peppers and onions
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon horseradish
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into the GT Xpress cooker's preheated cooking wells and close the lid. The dual cooking wells and controlled temperature cook from both top and bottom at once so there's no turning or burning. Cook approximately 8 minutes. Can also be cooked in a nonstick skillet.

170 Calories, 21 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fat.

Last Lost Weekend Before Going Back On Program

When I got sick with the flu and then sinus infection I totally ignored my diet and abandoned my exercise program. I went through having no appetite at all to craving bacon and potatoes to getting sick of stodgy foods all together. All my flu and sinus symptoms are gone now and I'm getting plenty of sleep. My new Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer Workouts have arrived and Monday I'm back on program. I'll be mixing them in with my Power 90X and Power 90X Plus workouts.

I'm not reining in my diet yet, partly because I'm reading 'The Cheat To Lose Diet' by Body For Life Grand Champion Joel Marion. (I competed in the 2000 Body For Life Competition six months after Bruno was born). And I've had previous experiences of metabolism boosts from eating more calories for brief periods of time. I nearly always have better results after a break from program.

This weekend I'm making my healthy homemade beef and five vegetable stew so the whole weekend isn't 'lost'. I'll enjoy wine and pizza tonight with Jerry then enjoy my weekend off by 'cleaning out the kitchen' including some leftover chocolate shots. "Yummo!" as Rachael Ray says.

Monday will start me down the training path that leads to swim suit season. I have lots of clean foods for next week - skinless chicken, fish, shrimp, lean beef, turkey, vegetables, fruits, and unrefined whole grains. Our backyard swimming pool is set to open on May 25th. I'd like to buy a smaller size suit this year. The last time I tried on the orange suit in the photo on my sidebar it was a bit loose. I'll post stats and reviews of the first of the 10 Minute Trainer videos early next week.

An aside, I've been having a lot of fun (mixed with frustration) with Photoshop this week working on eBook cover design and manipulating text, photos, and strange new Photoshop techniques. I thought I was a Photoshop whiz because I've been using Photoshop Elements for about 3 years and a full version Photoshop CS Jerry bought me for maybe 18 months to work on photos and some designs. Well let me tell you, I am an amateur who had barely scratched the surface of what Photoshop is capable of accomplishing. I have a three inch thick Photoshop manual but it's not nearly as full of tricks as some of the tutorials you can find online with a Google search. Maybe I'll post some of my experiments later.

Until then, I wish you all a great weekend.

Unknown Facts About The Flu # Three, Four and Five, New Tony Horton 10 Minute Workouts & Cool Links

Number Three - Having this flu is like going seven rounds with a sneaky Ninja fighter. Just when you think you've got the upper hand and he's going down for the count he sucker punches you and your flat on your back.

Number Four - Being forced to go on a nearly all liquid diet sucks. I found myself lying in bed the other day wondering "How many days of fasting before you begin to lose muscle mass?"

Number Five - Your endurance goes on a vacation. My normal before breakfast routine between 6:30 am and 8 am is get up is make the bed, let the puppy out, feed the fish, turn on the televisions - yes two, start coffee, do my bathroom ablutions and get dressed, lay out Bruno's clothes, wake up Bruno, make his breakfast then have a cup of coffee, start a load of laundry, call Jerry (that's the easy one), shoo Bruno off to the bus, do dishes, feed the horse, feed the dogs and cats, then make my breakfast. Finally, I sit down and eat while watching news on one television and Food TV with the sound off on the other.

Since I got the flu I have to interject rest breaks between every one or two chores.
Like make the bed, let the puppy out, lay down on the couch a few minutes. And then lay down in bed after a breakfast of toast if I'm lucky and water with lime if I feel I can't eat anything. My endurance is lagging so far below normal it's scary. I'm on damned day eight of this flu and I'm so ready to be done with it. Although I'm managing to keep up with the chores that are of bare bones necessity the house is slowly sinking into disarray including dirt tracked in from the muddy yard by people and pets.

Oh well, Spring Cleaning will commence as soon as I'm able.

And on the "Great News" front, Tony Horton just released a new line of fitness videos called 'Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer: Give Me 10 Minutes and I'll Give You Results!' Yes, I'm ordering mine today. I have his Power Half Hour line of workouts and they are killer. I'm sure 10 minutes with Tony is worth an hour with any other trainer. Why not try one of them yourself? If you can't find 30 minutes or 10 minutes a day to exercise I want to hear that excuse...

Here's a few cool links I want to share:

From Tom Venuto's Burn The Fat Blog:

Fat Burners - The Unadulterated Truth

The short and sweet answer is NO, you do not ever “need” fat burners.

While I won’t dismiss the possibility that there are some ingredients in some “fat burner” products that might help a little bit, I take great displeasure in seeing those kinds of misleading headlines as well as the misleading use of models who are often paid to endorse the product even though they may never have even used it (they’re just models!)

Many “fat burner” companies have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising, false claims and falsifying before and after photos.
The best you get is a slight thermogenic effect and possibly some slight appetite suppression. A few products might work through other mechanisms like improving thyroid, but if you forgive me the generalization, I consider the effects of all these products to be minutia. In a previous newsletter, I wrote that in my opinion, 97% of your results come from nutrition and training and maybe you get an extra 3% advantage from supplements. Read more.

Urban Dictionary - a slang dictionary with your definitions. Define your world.


Food Cravings - The Why and What To Eat To Stop Them.

Insanely Funny Cat Video

Power 90X Plus Total Body Plus Review & Nutrition on Power 90X

Tony Horton, Creator of Power 90, Power 90X, and Power 90X Plus















Buy Power 90X - Buy Power 90X Plus

Yowsa! I Love This Workout! Owww! Although only 45 minutes this workout hits every major muscle and a few others I didn’t know I had. I recommend Power 90X and Power 90X Plus to anyone who's fit and ready to take it to the next level. This was my first time doing Power 90X Plus Total Body so I watched each exercise before attempting them. Almost all of the exercises were new to me and I’d never done them before although some moves – squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, etc. – were familiar from Power 90X. If you already own Power 90X there's no repeats here, folks. You truly get what you pay for with Power 90X Plus - four rocking Extreme workouts.

Here’s the exercises in the order they’re performed. If you don’t know how an exercise is performed click on this link for video demos, or go here and look them up, or do an internet search.

What you’ll need: SelectTech Weights, Free Weights or Resistance Bands, pull up bar, towel, water.

Warm Up - including running in place, ballistic stretches, yoga moves, standard push ups, squat / rock / reach, walking lunges, Dive Bomb push ups, Twisting Pivot, Cyclone, Jumping Jacks, about 8 minutes.

Main workout – O Crunch Push Ups, Pull Up Crunches, Dead Lift / Curl / Press Combo, Step Kickback Chairs, Sumo Chairs, Chuck Up X, Cling On Run, Lunge Press with Bella Twist, Balance Curl, Running Man, Hindu / Pike Push Ups, Lunge / Squat / Lunge Combo, Mr. Moon, Kid Play, 3 & 3 (squats / push ups / pull ups), Half Dervish, Weighted Warrior, 1 & 1 (push ups and pull ups for 2 minutes), Lara Lunge Crunch, Spiderman Jumps, Plyo Push Ups, about 33 minutes.

Cool Down – ballistic bounce, ballistic stretches, standard stretches, about 4 minutes.

I only had to slightly modify three exercises due to my balance issues related to Cerebral Palsy. Even after a four week layoff from formal resistance training it’s obvious I’m getting stronger. Although the workout was challenging and I was sweating before we were through the warm up, it was fun and I am thrilled to be back on program.

And that endorphin rush afterwards is really nice.

Next: Power 90X Plus Kenpo Karate Plus

Start Stats For P90X Plus

1-15-08

Height 5 foot and ½ inch (up a ½ inch since last measured and likely due to yoga, stretching and Pilates routines that lengthen spine and soft tissues).

Weight 114 pounds

Body Fat Percentage 20.4 percent

Bust 34.5 inches

Waist 29.5 inches

Hips 36 ¾ inches

Thighs (measured high up) R 20 L 21

As for nutrition on Power 90X and Power 90X Plus, the nutrition guidebook states this is NOT a weight loss diet – although the workouts and nutritional support equal loss of body fat and gain of muscle mass. No one eats less than 1800 calories a day on this program and men eat as high as 3000 calories a day depending on what phase their on, their goals, and their size. These workouts are demanding and you must fuel your body properly for athletic performance. Low calorie, low carb, or inadequate protein will sabotage your performance and results. The macro-nutrient ratios are between 60 percent carb, 30 percent protein, 10 percent fat and 40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein, 20 percent fat depending on what phase you’re on.

This is an Extreme fitness program intended to get already fit people to the next level. It is not recommended for beginners, and many at an intermediate fitness level will struggle. If you aqre not fit, were once fit and are now out of shape, or overweight, and looking for a weight loss and exercise program this ain’t it. This isn’t a start up program by any means. I recommend Six Week Body Makeover, Slim In Six, and The Firm for beginner to intermediate fitness levels. All come with nutrition guides. If you're at intermediate fitness and not ready for extreme workouts try the original Power 90 or Body For Life.
I can recommend them because I've done them and they're sound programs.

Yesterday’s Meals

Meal 1 - 8 am 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese, salsa, 1 cup blackberries

Meal 2 – 11 am Protein powder and creatine in juice from juicer of 1 banana, 1 green apple, 1 cucumber, fresh ginger, flax oil, glutamine, carnitine powder.

1:30 pm Workout – P90X Plus Total Body

Meal 3 – 3 pm Protein powder in juice from juicer of 1 medium banana calories 109 fat 1 carbs 28 protein 1, 1 green apple, 1 cucumber, fresh ginger, flax oil. Glutamineand carnitine.

Meal 4 – 6 pm 4 ounces lime and chili marinated chicken breast, Mexican style mixed vegetables, flax oil.

Meal 5 – 9 pm Veggie burgers, nonfat cheese, Smart Balance mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, wine – 2 - 3.5 ounce glasses.

Totals Calories 1756, Protein 126 grams, Carbs 120 grams, Fats 15 grams, Alcohol 38 grams

New All-Time Low Body Fat Percent!

My numbers this morning are 116 pounds, 17.1 percent body fat and 20 pounds body fat. This puts my lean mass at 96 pounds! That's a gain of 4 pounds of lean mass! (I started my second 12 week round of Power 90X in October).

That's a total of 13 pounds of muscle mass gained since April. And down from 29 percent body fat to 17.1 percent is 12 percent body fat lost.

WOO HOO! Power 90X and Tony Horton Rock! And so do I. If this isn't a glowing testimonial to the effectiveness of Power 90X and eating properly for performance (approximately 40-35-25 or 40-30-30 protein - carb - fat on most days) I don't know what is.

I'll add this food for thought; when choosing a fitness or nutrition approach judge it on the results others achieved. Closely examine it and ask yourself if you can truly adopt it as a LIFESTYLE, not some temporary fix that you'll quit. And look at people who use that approach. Do they look the way YOU want to look? If someone hawks an approach but they never reach their goals (including goal weight, body fat percent, and appearance) why would you follow them? Many diets leave you a "skinny fat person". Is that what you want? How many people who follow a certain diet or exercise program you're doing or considering actually get the results you want?

"Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Unknown



Want REAL Results? Buy Power 90X and BRING IT!

Other Power 90X Links:

Power 90X Fitness Infomercial.com Reviews

Raven's Body Blog

Watch P90X Demonstrated

Exercise and Low Carb Diets Make Poor Partners - Fat Loss Coach Speaks Out by Charles Remington