The Leaning Caveman

These past few weeks have been insanely busy.  I've had a schedule full of business items, the job search and many a personal issue yet somehow I am now down a total of 30 pounds.  30 pounds?!?  It is absolutely insane to me that I've hit this number only a little over five weeks into the process.  What makes it even crazier is that I have been too busy to consistently stick with my P90x routine yet the weight keeps coming off.


This caveman is getting leaned out.  Fast. 

I discussed my my new workout regime on Monday and described how I am mixing P90X with being primal.  As it turns out I get the Mark's Daily Apple newsletter in my inbox today and low and behold Mark has an article on the usage of crossfit and P90x with the primal lifestyle.

Mark has many a good thing to say about each of the fitness plans and covers how they are very popular with other followers of Grok.  In terms of issues, he discusses how he isn't sure how sustainable doing P90x is over the long run after fitness goals are met and I have to agree with him.  That being said though, I have a long way to go until that is the issue.  Looking forward however, I could see replacing some of the cardio routines with long hikes or runs when the weather is nice.  I also have a feeling that Yoga X will eventually get monotonous after round one is complete but I have a Bikram yoga place around the corner and know several Iyengar instructors so I'm not too concerned about alternatives.  Considering that my right arm got to failure doing the second round of Congdon curls during Shoulders & Arms today,

Read the article for yourself and be sure to share your comments below.  Thanks.
Link to article on Mark's Daily Apple.

We are now a couple of weeks into this new journey and I'm pleased to announce that I have lost 12 pounds.  The cravings for sugary little bombs that send my glycemic load through the roof are more or less gone and nearly all starches have been eliminated.  I even survived a trip to San Francisco and remained more or less primal through the entire process.  In fact I have to give the W Hotel across from Moscone Center kudos.  The breakfast menu in their restaurant is one of the most primal friendly that I have ever seen.  Well done guys.


Moving on to today's topic which is of course exercise.  Generally speaking I am a pretty sedentary guy; I ply my trade by sitting in front of a computer, sitting in meetings and sitting on airplanes.  Left to my own devices, exercise isn't something that is generally on my radar.  But since I am trying to emulate Grok, I have engaged in a workout plan.  In this case I am using P90X.  I chose the program for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost is that I have a copy.  I had started through the workouts prior to getting the ever lovely H1N1 and pneumonia after Thanksgiving.  The second reason is that it is a proven, structured workout plan that gets incredible results.  The third reason is that Mark Sisson (author of The Primal Blueprint) was a consultant to Beachbody during the creation of P90X and the diet plan provided with the DVDs does not veer too far from being primal. 


During the past week (what I'm calling week 0) I reacquainted myself with the workouts.  I made it through all three of the strength workouts (Chest & Back, Arms & Shoulders, Legs & Back) and Kenpo X with a minimum of drama but Plyometrics and Yoga X cooked my noodle.  It is going to be some time before I feel that I have mastered those two beasts but I am looking forward to trying.  Today is day 1 of week 1 of my restart.  That means I put myself through Chest and Back and was able to complete each of the exercises.  I even did it without any knee pushups!  We'll see how this goes.  First round of photos go up at the 30 day mark!


Are you primal?  Have you attempted P90X?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments.