P90X, 40% disabled with bad knees!

This is my umpteen time restarting P90X. This time it is very different. The first attempt I was 45 days into the X when my doc recommended knee surgery. It was from an old injury obtained in the military. I lost 30 pounds in 25 days the first try at it. Since the surgery I have had two more knee surgeries and a shoulder surgery. I gained about half of those 30 pounds back and have maintained +\- 5 pounds for about 2 years.

People always ask why I keep doing P90X and not some other program. I interpret "other program" as meaning "easier program". The reason why is the X is my therapy. While going through physical therapy after several of my different surgeries, I have come to realize that many of the therapeutic moves in physical rehabilitation are similar if not the same as the moves in P90X. The last two surgeries, one shoulder and one knee, the doc recommended I continue using whatever I was doing because I rehabilitated much faster and became much stronger than other patients going through similar surgeries at that time. I also continued to drink my Shakeology daily which I believe was a great help due to the amount of nutrients I received.

A shout out to Cammie Lusk and her wonderful story. She keeps me motivated. I am not in a wheel
chair like her, but having minimum cartilage in both knees make me feel like I should be sometime. She continues to be an inspiration to the community of people with disabilities. She has an aggressive case of MS, and still keeps bringing it! I am a 40% disabled military veteran with shoulder, back, foot, and knee issues. Thank you Wheeliechick for you great example!

The one tip that I can recommend for P90Xers with knee issues. Don't jump! ;)

I still do Plyo X. I substitute jumping with correct form squats. So far it is working and I feel like I can finish the X this round. I am also doing it together with my wife. She keeps me motivated and stays positive even when I am a grouch. Thanks babe for sticking with me during this challenge!

I am currently on -23 pounds from my starting weight of 294. My goal is 194, that equals 100 pounds lost when I achieve it. I am finishing up week two of P90X tomorrow. Only 11 more weeks to go! I have lost 10 pounds in my first two weeks of this round. I can feel the muscle mass building and the fat shrinking. I went from a 42 pants size to fitting a 38 in these two weeks. My short term goal for these 90 days is to lose 40 pounds. That is 3 pounds a week on average. I will take a week off and roll into P90X2 to finish off another 30 pounds. And for the last 7 pounds to reach my goal, I choose Insanity to bring me home to the finish!

With that being said, I plan to lose 70 pounds in the next six months. Pretty good for a 40% disabled veteran huh? Well I am not there yet and could use your support. Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for more updates.

If interested in learning more about my programs of choice please visit my website at www.HawaiiBeachBodies.com

Back to blogging

My wife and I are on week two day three of P90X. It feels great! I have lost 26 pounds so far, since my journy has begun. My doctor has removed me from blood pressure and cholesterol medication. I owe it all to beachbody and my favorite meal of the day, Shakeology. I drink it everyday and it is work the extra years added on to my life. Thanks Beachbody!

Injury will not hold me back!

My fitness over the years has been like a rollercoaster or a Yo-Yo at best. Growing up as a child basketball became my preferred sport. In my late teens at 6ft tall I was able to dunk a basketball with two hands. It seems when I achieved a goal, I would get injured. At the age of 19 while getting robbed, I was shot in the shoulder and could not work out. I was due to join the United States Navy in a few months, but gained too much weight from recovering from the wound. I had to lose weight before I could enlist. I lost just enough to enlist with 1 pound to spare. Then I went to boot camp and lost 24 more pounds. It felt great. I was 189 pounds, 8% body fat and felt like I could fly on the basketball court.
While playing a pickup game on base, I completely ripped my left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). I was devastated. I went from dunking a basketball with two hands, to not able to touch the net. I gained 40 pounds and lost 6 inches of muscle from my left leg due to atrophy. I never wanted to see a basketball again. I had two screws in my knee and couldn’t jump any more.
My knees began to hurt from lack of muscle and I was diagnosed with PFS (patella femoral syndrome). I worked out just enough to pass Navy fitness standards, but was still saddened by the weight gain and the pain I went through every day. Still gaining I ballooned up to 281 pounds. Home on leave, visiting the parents, I knew it was time to make a change when I had to hold my breath to tie my shoes.
I watched the Power 90 infomercial a couple times and the phrase “In Home Boot camp” brought back memories of feeling great right out of Navy boot camp and I wanted to try getting back into boot camp shape. At the time a lot was going on in my life. I hit a lot of mid life milestone all around the same time. I turned 30, went over 10 years in the military, and was promoted to E-6 all within 3 months. I started to feel old and had very little motivation. I started Power 90 and stopped after day 30. I placed it on the shelf and didn’t look at it again for 3 years. In 2006, I was scheduled to go on deployment and wanted to complete Power 90 at sea. It worked great; I lost 57 pounds with Power 90. I felt great and I could dunk again, well with one hand at least.
During a morning workout doing laps around the track, I was having severe pains in my left knee. I went to the doctor and was told that maybe my ACL surgery was causing arthritis. So I was confined to the Elliptical and stationary bike in the gym. The Elliptical was too much pain to bear. Another trip to the doctor and several x-rays later, a calcified bone growth was revealed under my knee cap from the first surgery. Once again I undergo surgery to remove the excess bone and I get discouraged and gain weight. This time I am up to 275 pounds. During my rehab I was riding the stationary bike and noticed the P90X infomercial on the gym TV. I was hooked and watched Tony and the P90X infomercial every time I rehabbed.
The doctor told me that I had degenerative arthritis and I could only bike or swim. So I maintained between 260-270 pounds because I didn’t work out hard enough due to knee pains all the time. Eventually I left the military and really piled on the pounds. Exercise was not mandatory anymore and I didn’t do a thing for 6 months. My blood pressure was to the point I had to be medicated and I was taking maximum dose of pain killers each day.
I did not want to be dependent on pain pills all my life and knew that I needed to change fast. I knew that if I didn’t make a change then spending time with my wife and kids would probably be cut short. I got a second opinion on my knee and discovered it was the PFS causing the pain and not arthritis. I already knew what I needed to do, build muscle to strengthen my knees. From that day on P90X was on my mind. I knew the results that Power 90 gave me and I was sure that P90X was the next step to take.
I am 30 days into my P90X work out, and the doc told me I needed surgery on my “good” knee. I was experiencing a little pain and got it checked out. After a MRI the doc found a major tear in the meniscus. This time I will find a way to incorporate P90X into my rehab, because I have already dropped 22 pounds, 9% body fat and 6 inches off my waist in the first 30 days. I cannot let injury hold me back. Quoted best by one of our WOWY members “I will not lose the pounds I will discard them, because I never want to find them again.”
I am no longer taking pain meds or blood pressure medication, I can go to the mall with my family and my knees will not hurt from walking. I am surprising myself with how fast I am progressing.
P90X is doing more than getting me back in shape; P90X is giving me my life back!