There are a few times in life that you get to learn with such great intensity that it can seem overwhelming at first. This was one of those weeks while I was at the Beachbody Summit. It was a time to meet with all of the great people that I have met over the past 2 years and learn about the new tools that are available. I am very excited to share all the exciting new things like the new P90X2 and the exciting opportunity for Active Military and their families. Stay tuned this week as I cover what has been released. I am currently tracking back home so check back Thursday for a video and blog post about how you can be the first to purchase P90X2. Here is a video I took after Shaun T workout at this year's Beachbody Summit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePEBWT42lzA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Matthew Hillis is a father of four that was letting life go by while he laid on the couch until one day he decided to change.  He was able to lose 30lbs in his first 90 days of working out with P90X.  Matthew has kept that weight off for 2 years and has helped hundreds of people just like yourself to achieve their own fitness goals.  If your life is busy and you believe there is just no time to workout then allow Matthew to help tailor a fitness plan to you and your life.  Together we are better!

Nutrition Simplified

I have been drinking Shakeology® since June 2009 and I have to say I really love it. I have been getting the chocolate flavor each month and it I am hooked on this Shakeology. I am sure that many of you have never heard of Shakeology or those who have heard of it or you might be skeptical of this “Healthiest meal of the Day!”

What It Does

In an independent 90-day study, participants replaced one meal a day with Shakeology® and exercised regularly.
Here’s what they told us:*

* “I felt full and didn’t struggle with hunger.”
* “I felt a better sustained energy throughout the day.”
* “I have tons of energy. I feel so healthy!”
* “I replaced all my vitamin supplements. I felt healthy and energized.”
* “I was able to think more clearly and stay focused.”
* “I have more energy, less cravings, more endurance, and feel more youthful.”
* “Shakeology reduced my appetite and increased my energy so that I could accomplish more things throughout the day.”
* “I have tried a lot of protein shakes and meal-replacement-type drinks, and Shakeology is the best tasting of them all. I mix it with a bit of soy milk and ice, and it tastes like an ice cream shake!”

Here’s what the doctor who ran the study observed about the participants:*

* They reduced oxidative stress, a risk factor for degenerative diseases, by as much as 90%.
* They lowered their total cholesterol levels by an average of 30% and their “bad” cholesterol levels by an average of 38%.
* They reduced their cardiovascular risk factors by an average of 24%.

What’s In It

Even if you searched all over the world, you probably wouldn’t be able to find all of the 70-plus, ultra-high-quality ingredients we’ve included in Shakeology. Not only do you get a wide range of essential nutrients, from the fruits and vegetables you should be eating more of every day, you’ll also get the benefits of important foods from all around the world—foods that the latest scientific research has shown to be highly advantageous to your well-being.

More than 70 different ingredients were chosen from around the world for their potency and bioavailability (the ability to deliver the nutrients your body needs). Here are the key nutrient groups that these ingredients deliver:*

* Protein and Essential Amino Acids to help build long, lean muscles and reduce food cravings
* Prebiotics and Digestive Enzymes, which aid in improving digestion, regularity, and nutrient absorption
* Antioxidants and Phytonutrients to help counteract free radical damage that can lead to degenerative diseases
* Vitamins and Minerals your body needs to function for
optimal health

I use to drink 5 Mountain Dews a day with a couple of honey buns for good measure. I know drink this one Shakeology for my afternoon meal with some peanut butter and it gives my all the vegetables I need for the day on one glass. There are many different ways that you make your own recipe and mix Shakeology to your own taste. You can go to www.shakeology.com for more recipe ideas. So how does this tasty shake work?

How It Works*

This patent-pending daily nutritional shake helps your body gently eliminate toxins more efficiently while allowing for better absorption of the essential nutrients you need. A proprietary blend of digestive enzymes and prebiotics helps your body progressively eliminate the toxins that build up over time from eating today’s highly processed foods.

At the same time, whole-food ingredients deliver the essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals your body needs to curb cravings, allowing your body to shed stored fat while the more than 20 different antioxidants and phytonutrients help reduce free radical damage that can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and stroke.

The benefits are really there and I have sen a rise in sustained energy levels with a drop in Cholesterol which is the main reason I started Shakeology. My doctor was talking about starting me on different Cholesterol medicines to bring my numbers down but since I have been drinking Shakeology my Total cholesterol numbers have dropped 30 points and my HDL/LDL numbers are all within the correct range for the 1st time in 10 years.

So you have read all the wonderful benifts and you want to try this amazing new product but you are still not sure. If you order you get a 30 Day money back guarantee so now is the time to try it and if you don’t like it send it back. The retail cost is $119 but there are ways to get up to 25% discounts on all Team Beachbody products. If you order Shakeology on HomeDirect you get Free Lifetime shipping plus 2 free workouts. To purchase Shakeology now click here http://bit.ly/4ldPkw

Now is the time to try Shakeology because you have nothing to lose but weight.

I get asked how to over come plateaus and it always comes back to the basics of weight loss. So many of my people that I help have to increase the calories that they consume before their weight loss starts again. Here is a video from Steve Edwards that explains all the basics that you need for weight loss.

I love reading success stories of other people finding motivation and inspiration to take control of their lives and making it better.  I was privileged to watch as Lou started his journey with fitness and has recently completed a round of P90X.  If you are not happy with your body or the way your life is going it is up to YOU to make the changes.  We can receive help an encouragement from others but ultimately the success or failure is up to YOU!

I did it. I finished P90X. And I gotta tell you it was difficult. There are days that I wanted to quit, there are days when I could have worked out harder, but I did it and i finished it!

P90 What?
What the hell is P90X? It a series of workout DVDs And as is the case with everything that has the letter “X” in it the “X” is for extreme. Its billed as an extreme workout and they aren’t kidding. But for those who know me know that the only extreme thing I’ve ever committed to is maybe a buffet or 6 hours of Xbox. 90 days is a long time to be working out. How did Fatty McFatovich commit to and complete an “X” style workout?

The Holocaust of Exercise
Well as is the case with everything there is a story behind this. Exercise has never been important to me in my entire life. Up until a few years ago exercise was something that stupid people with nothing better to do did. Or in the last few years of my life something to be endured if you had to. The most strenuous exercise I ever did was 12 ounce Labatt Blue curls (mmmm Canadian beer, how I miss you). Sure I did yard work type exercise like mow the lawn or split wood or any of that kind of crap, but that was because it was work that needed to be done. Not because I wanted to.

Good Beer and a Bottle of Sauce
And then there was food. My sweet sweet love affair with food. Between the yummy creamy pasta sauces, and the alcohol and the multitudes of meat, I never met a dinner I did not like. I indulged a lot and often. Believe me, its not an accident that I became this fat guy. Over the years through my actions I created him. My belly is the gut that pasta built. So you see, lack of exercise and plenty of eating and you get FAT. And I’m not one of these people that’s going to blame me being fat on someone else. That’s a big pile of crap and everyone knows it. Its not McDonald’s fault that I ate food from there. I choose to life the fork and spoon to my mouth, not anyone else.

The Legend of Uncle Bobby
In the year 2000 something happened that would have a sever impact on me later in life. My good friend Uncle Bobby died of a heart attack in his sleep. Bob was 49 when he died. Bob smoke and drank and ate, just like me (except for the smoking part, damn that stuff is nasty…). I was devastated at the time because no one that I had really ever lost anyone close to me. What i didn’t know at the time is the effect it would have on me later.

Meet Virginia
Then I met Virginia. What an awesome day. She changed my life. For the better even. Can you believe that she was horrified that when I would cook I would basically deep fry everything? What did she mean that bologna wasn’t supposed to be deep fried?? Well she nudged me slowly towards working out and eating better.

The Futility of Diet and Exercise
There for a while I did really well. I worked out hard and I ate like a frickin bird. Life sucked! I was miserable. I wasn’t eating and I was pushing myself. Virginia was working out with me and that sort of kept me honest. Sometimes she would yell at me because I would be just sitting there. So imagine what happened when My son was born and she wasn’t working out with me anymore? I would just sit there and watch TV and not work out.

I need to sit and Rest, hand me a doughnut…
So I had lost a bunch of weight, and then my son was born. I more or less stopped working out and started eating again and the weight started to come back on. I got to a point where I was getting winded walking up a flight of stairs. I didn’t want to play with my son because I would get to tired. Anything activity based I would take a pass on or figure a way to get out of it.

The Epiphany
Then something weird happened. I saw the P90X infomercial. No i didn’t order it, but I liked what I saw. I thought “I wish I could do that” and didn’t think much about it. But whenever i would see it on TV, i would watch the whole thing. And this is the part that is going to sound stupid to some people. I had a dream about Uncle Bobby. And this is the freaky part, in the dream Bobby was me. It scared the living crap out of me. I woke up scared to death and the TV was on, the P90X infomercial was on. It was time to change.

Stupid Food Tasting So Good
And so now you know the reason for my plunge into P90X. But the funny thing is that I wake up every day at 4:30am on purpose and work out for an hour. I did 90 days of this. However that wasn’t the hard part. The hard part is the part that i am still, and probably will still struggle with for a long time. And that is food. I stick to my nutrition plan pretty good during the week, but when the weekend comes for some stupid reason I throw nutrition logic out the window and try to run over it a few times. I’m getting better, but like I said it will need work,

Hark, i See Results!
But all of this working out and nutrition stuff is for nothing is there ain’t any results. And here they are. In 90 days I went from 360 pounds (damn I’m fat) down to a slim and trim 335 (damn, I’m still fat, but less fat…). I lost 25 pounds. I went down a pant size. I gained a lot of muscle, ask my wife, she now knows where to go for the “gun show”. And I have energy to burn. I play with my son more. I walk up and down stairs. I just do more of everything. And because it was my fault that I got into this mess, its also my fault that I’m getting out of it!

You Didn’t do it alone
I had plenty of help. I have my dear wife Virginia. Without her nothing good is possible. I can get into evil all by myself and I’m quite good at it, but when it comes to doing good, i need her help! I also had the support of my sister Karen. She would call me and i would call her and we would push each other. She’s doing a program called Turbo Jam While I’m doing P90X. We kept each other motivated. Then I had the support of the “Average Joe’s” . They are a online forum where like minded P90X people get kinda chat with each other. Without all of this support my journey would have been much more likely to fail. So part of my success is due to all of these people. And then there is Alex, my boy. He inspires me every day. And sometimes he would work out with me, running and kicking and doing yoga. He along with Virginia are my inspirations in life.

Geez Lou, does this damn story ever end?
Yeah it ends. But guess what? I’m still doing it. Even though 90 days and my P90X is over I’m still working out. I created my own program. I’ve merged P90X, P90X+ and Tony Horton’s One on One workouts to create my next 90 day Program called Lou90X. I’m still working on the Nutritional aspect. But I figure as long as I keep at it and don’t quit, someday I’ll be at a respectable healthy weight. And when that day comes its time to go motorcycle shopping baby!!!

I can’t and I quit are not in the vocabulary of a friend of mine who just completed his 1st round of P90X. Ryker started his fitness journey at 275lbs. Most people would have never tried and those that try usually quit because they believe it is too hard. Ryker not only tried but has succeeded and is still succeeding. Ryker decided to write his transformation story and I believe it is to powerful not to share. If you are as inspired by his story as I was please leave a comment below and let him know.

This might be a little long, but here is my transformation story, i’ve posted on facebook, and blogs and everything else lol. Hope this inspires everyone to keep pushing play and BRINGING IT!

Hi! I’m Ryker, a farm boy from a small town in Idaho, Blackfoot. I’ve been married for 7 yrs, and have 2 beautiful children and one on the way.

Here’s my story:
All my life, I have had a confidence and self esteem problem. I wasn’t the most popular kid at school, I was a computer nerd and a band geek. Now, maybe it was because I was a tad over weight, or maybe it’s just because, that’s who I was. Either way, it carried on after High School and I started partying to fit in, and that’s when things went downhill. I drank alot, among other things, and was, for lack of better terms, “abusing” my body.

Well, a small family, and 10 yrs sober from my party scene later, I Had come to realize that if I didn’t do something about my health soon, and all the abuse that I had put my body through, I wasn’t going to be around much longer. At this point I was weighing in at 275 lbs, and over 38% body fat.
Now, it didn’t take a doctor to tell me that. When you walk up a flight of stairs and you run out of breath, or you wrestle with your kids, and 5 minutes into it you have to take a break because your side hurts, THAT’S when reality slaps you in the face, and says HEY WAKE UP STUPID! YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!

One night, me and my wife were discussing different options in our lives, and with the economy and the world the way it is now, of course our conversation turned towards schooling, and career choices.
Now, having been in the military before, there was always the option of going back, but past attempts to lose weight have failed due to an unstructured diet/workout program, or a better job came along and we decided to forget that idea. Well, I’m almost done with my associates degree, but with a new addition to our family, I would need to be making more money than I was at my current job. We decided it was time to consider the Military option and really commit and work towards it to make it happen, and make a better life for Us and our little family.

We were watching TV, and a commercial for the P90X system came on. We sat in disbelief and doubt as we saw picture after picture flash across the screen of people’s results and how happy and healthy they looked. Even people as big as me, were seeing amazing results. I started the research. I started looking for other programs online that could compare to p90x and that could give me the results I needed in a short amount of time. Time was running out as our new baby was on the way, and my current job was going to go into seasonal layoffs in October or November.

We decided to invest into the P90X program to make the changes I needed to re-enlist in the military.
The day my P90X package arrived, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried. All over the package were warnings about, needing to be in really good shape to do the program, or if you have any history of knee injuries, (which I did from martial arts years ago), you shouldn’t do this program.
Well, let’s just say, I ignored the warnings and dove right in feet first, emptied the cupboards, went shopping, got all my gear, and committed to completing the program, although I was still afraid of what the program was, and just what I had gotten myself into.

Then came picture time. Now, I’m fine with having my picture taken, that’s not a problem for me, happens a lot with my band and other things, but pictures taken by a camera and looking in a mirror are VERY VERY different.

I looked at my first picture, which was a front shot of me, with shorts and no shirt on. I saw what everyone else saw when they looked at me, and I cried. Afterwards, I finally got up the courage to post them publicly for everyone to see and to criticize. I posted them originally on the boards in a general area and got a few good lucks and what not, but that’s when everything changed for me.
I found my coach, Coach Jelly from the Average Joe’s. I started posting in that forum when It first started and found all the support I would need to get through the program. From the amazing coaches, (THANKS COACH JELLY AND COACH HILLIS!!), to the other people just like me, pushing through the P90X program.

The first week of my workout was Hell. From eating the right way, giving up the foods that I loved to eat, (pizza, chocolate, soda, etc.) to things that I hadn’t done in years, and things I had never done before in my life, bombarded my body and left me sore, sweaty and panting every day. BUT I didn’t let it stop me. Despite the soreness, the nausea, the sweat, the pain, I pushed through phase 1. In phase 1 alone I dropped almost 20 lbs, and was amazed at the results!

I pushed even harder through phase 2 and 3, and at the end of round 1 of P90X, I have to say I’m in better shape than I was in the military over 10 yrs ago!

I’ve gone from 275 lbs to 237 in 90 days. Dropped 8% body fat and 5 pant sizes, but that’s not the rewarding part.

The most rewarding thing that has happened to me in the last 90 days, is the fact that I can go outside and run and wrestle with my kids for hours and just barely be out of breath. I can now pick one of them up in each hand by the ankles and curl them, or put them behind my back and tricep press them .(6 yr old boy and 4 yr old girl), Before, when we would come home late with the kids, and they would be asleep in the van, I would have to wake them up and make them walk upstairs because If I carried them, it was too much for me to do. Now, I can carry my precious kids to bed without waking them up and tuck them in without needing to sit down and rest. I can look in the mirror and be happy with who I am and proud of what I’ve done.

I am so thankful for what P90X has done for me that I choke up even while writing this blurb. And it’s not just what P90X has done. It’s the support of everyone through this first round that has made my transformation possible.

Most importantly my Wife for supporting me in my decision to get through this. My kids, who would beg and beg to workout with me no matter what I was doing. Ethan, my 6yr old who now wants to take kenpo classes, and who always kept track of my reps on ab ripperX and who always wrote them down, and Rebecca my soon to be 4 yr old who now enjoys yoga, and stretchx when I do it. Of course my parents, who are now trying a few of my DVD’S out, and especially to My mom (licensed massage therapist and cranial sacral therapist) for being able to give me the therapy that I needed to get through the days when I was especially sore, and hurting.

AND last but certainly not least, My Coach, John Adams and all my workout buddies at the Average Joe’s Group on the message boards! YOU GUYS ALL ROCK!

Even though I’m not as religious as I should be, I know someone up there answers prayers, because, I don’t know how many times I was able to push out some extra reps, when I knew I had hit muscle failure, and How many times that I sat on the edge of the bed and said a small prayer to help me get through my workouts when my knee started acting up, and was able to complete workouts, and today, my knee doesn’t give me problems.

But this isn’t the end, NO WAY. This is a lifestyle change, not a 90 day change. I’m still overweight and it will take a few more rounds to get to where I want to be!

NO MATTER WHAT, if you are overweight, and obese like I was, if you are abusing your body like I used to, if you are eating unhealthy, please PLEASE PLEASE do something about it. I’m not saying go buy P90X, get a workout program that you like, make a decision to eat healthier, and change your life. Whether it’s for you, your girlfriend, your wife, whatever. DO IT. I did it for my Kids, so I can create a better life for them and so I can be around for them longer.

As Tony Horton says, Do your best and forget the rest. Forget everything that has brought you down in the past and make a change starting today. You are in control of your life, no one else. You can change if YOU want to.

BRING IT!!
Ryker Murdock
P90X Grad and a Changed Man