P90X vs CrossFit… I’ve written about it before, and it was one of the most controversial threads of comments I’ve ever dealt with LOL!
I did CrossFit myself, for 2 months at the start of 2010. It wasn’t a good fit for me. Being way overweight was my biggest immediate problem, and there were no solid nutritional guidelines with CrossFit to help me get on the right track with losing weight. Also, as someone without perfect joints due to wear and tear over the years, the workouts tore up my shoulders in particular. I was out of shape, weighing 255 lbs, and the workouts seemed more like a test of my fitness rather than a program to help me get fit. That’s when I switched to P90X on February 27, 2010, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve never gone back to the gym to try CrossFit again over these past 3+ years. I’ve been beyond pleased with what I’m able to accomplish in my own home … or should I say garage since that’s where the “magic happens” :-). But regardless of my personal bias, I am a firm believer that ANYTHING that gets you fired up, motivated, and on the road to your health and fitness goals is a GOOD THING. If that’s CrossFit, then great!
I was talking with my good buddy David Jeffries (whose P90X Hall of Fame video I shared last week) about P90X vs. P90X2 vs. Body Beast vs. CrossFit, and we both decided it would be really cool for him to head back to the gym and try CrossFit so that we could report on how it stacks up to home workouts. David, like me, has been working out from home with Beachbody workouts for over 3 years now, so he has a lot of expertise and experience to draw from.
So with that, I told David to spend a month doing CrossFit and report what he learns back to the teamRIPPED nation! Without further ado, take it away David!! ……………….
P90X vs CrossFit: The Experiment – Coach David Jeffries
A little background on me: I am 28 years old, married to a wonderful woman, father of 2 (3 and 1 year old), and LOVE Beachbody programs! I got my start with P90X in the Fall of 2010. I was given P90X to borrow from my brother-in-law. I really wanted to do something about my health and fitness and thought P90X would be the answer. I was always pretty skinny growing up. I played soccer, ran cross country, and lifted a bunch at the end of college. But like many, married life and a lack of activity caught up to me. I still ate like I did when I was 145 lbs and added tons of empty calories from pop and beer. That all worked together to bringing me up to around 185-190 on most days. I had slowly worked up form 32″ jeans to 34″ and was ready to move up from there. Enough was enough.
So I got P90X and did it to the best of my ability. I tried the portion plan at 2400 calories but did stupid things like taking Recovery weeks completely off. I did stop drinking all pop and beer for my first 90 days which was great and really broke those habits. At the end of the day, I was still missing something. I had lost around 20 lbs in that round but I wasn’t ripped. Those commercials said I would be RIPPED! After some searching on YouTube I found a video of a guy named Wayne. He had great results, so I emailed him. Sure enough, he emailed back! You know how the story goes from there… I started tracking my food with FitDay. I ran a deficit and Fat Shredder, and in 90 days I was ripped. It was really a snowball effect from there. I loved plugging in to teamRIPPED and even joined Wayne’s first challenge group: The Asylum Crazies! Some of my best friends in the world came from that challenge. I still talk with many of them daily and see them whenever the opportunity presents itself.
As Coach Wayne mentioned, I have done a lot of Beachbody programs. As of today, I have completed multiple rounds of P90X, P90X2, The Asylum V1 and V2, and a couple rounds of Body Beast. I have done lots workouts from Insanity, Les Mills PUMP, ChaLEAN Extreme, Tony Horton’s 1-on-1s, and T25. For the past 3 years, I have been all about Beachbody. It took me a while to get in on coaching, but after doing it informally for a while, I pulled the trigger with some help and guidance from Coach Wayne. I love it! I love helping people find solutions that fit their needs. I love seeing people realize they can change. I think Beachbody has put together some of the absolute best, and complete, programs to do that.
So here is the P90X vs CrossFit Experiment
Coach Wayne and I were talking and thought wouldn’t it be interesting to see what CrossFit is really like. I volunteered to take on the task. I have gone into this with a very open mind. As much as I like Beachbody, I think it really all boils down to fitness. I love lifting! I love getting to workout and push myself. I love variety. So, if I have tried tons of different programs from Beachbody, why wouldn’t I give CrossFit a try?
My promise to all of teamRIPPED is that I will be completely honest with you. I will be fair and open with my experience. I am going to go hard and see what I get out of it. I’m not here to bash anyone or be biased. I obviously do have previous expereinces as I have chosen a very specific type of workout for the last 3 years, but I am entering this experiment in a neutral mindset.
The Specifics
- I will do nothing but CrossFit for the next month.
- I will join my local CF gym and be an active member.
- I will follow their coaches’ instructions and work out as they work out.
- I will be posting weekly on teamRIPPED about my experience and compare/contrast this new experience with my Beachbody experience.
- I will give MY opinions. They may not line up with yours, that’s ok.
- I will also stay plugged in here to answer any questions or comments you have.
- I will BRING IT!
So stop back in and follow along with me on my journey with CrossFit! I am really excited for what the next month holds.
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
