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I would have never imagined when I slid that “Sweat 1/2” DVD into the tray
back in February of 2008 that such a simple act could have such a profound
affect on my entire life. It’s without exaggeration that I can say I’m a
completely different person now. My confidence, self esteem, motivation for
life, strength and endurance has soared. My weight has plummeted 30
pounds. The journey is never-ending, and so far it’s been a great ride.

I’m not a sports-crazy person. I never have been. Phys. Ed. Class growing up
brought the anxiety of being made fun of or not being able to perform to the
level that was expected. In college all non-transportation-related movement
stopped, my diet mainly consisted of fast food, and I discovered alcohol. My
college and high school had the same color graduation gowns. Taking
pictures on graduation day my dad made a crack about how it looked like 4
years ago, only now I had an extra 25 pounds on me… Ow. It would be nearly
three years later that I decided to do something about it.

I always knew in the back of my head that I wasn’t in shape. I wasn’t
planning on running any marathons or competing in the Olympics, so it just
wasn’t something I worried about much. It was something that was easier to
ignore than fix. As time went on, I started to realize the sad physical state I
was in more and more. When I received my first school portraits as member
of a faculty in October, 2007, I didn’t recognize the guy with the double chin
staring back at me. It was really hard to look at, but I still didn’t do anything
about it. I stuffed the pictures under a pile of papers, and probably grabbed a
donut.

In February of 2008 I had settled comfortably into my first full-time teaching
job. This is when I learned that due to downsizing, I would be out of a job at
the end of the school year. Suddenly, the one part of my life that was going
good was grabbed out from under me. I was just a soon-to-be unemployed,
chubby, single, 25-year-old with no social life, living in his parents’ house.
Not much to be proud of, at least from my perspective. I knew I needed to do
something drastic, and needed to do it fast.

I remembered my copy of Power 90. It was tucked away somewhere gathering
dust. I pulled those two DVDs out of the drawer. I had tried it a few times in
years past, but never lasted more than three or four days. This time I knew
even before I started it would be different. The night before I pushed play for
the first time I could barely sleep I was so excited. I tracked the days and my
stats in a calendar I made in Excel. I took loads of progress pictures. I
changed my eating habits. The transformation started to happen.

I was shocked how quickly people started noticing a change in my physical
appearance and overall attitude. The first time one of my coworkers said,
“Wow Tim, are you losing weight?”, was a day to remember. That positive
reinforcement from family and friends, combined with the support I found on
the message boards, kept me going. Before I knew it 90 days had passed and
I had lost 31 pounds. I celebrated on Day 90 by participating in my first
charity 5K race. Something I would have never considered doing three
months prior.

I knew from the beginning that P90X was something I’d like to eventually take
on, but in those early days of Power 90 I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be ready. The
5 minutes of power yoga in Sweat 1/2 and the standard push-ups in Sculpt
were giving me a hard enough time as it was. Gradually, however, I noticed
myself getting stronger. I’ll never forget the day I made it through the power
yoga without collapsing to my knees. That was the first time I thought to
myself, “Wow. Maybe this is really going to work.” P90X slowly started to
seem like an obtainable goal. After 113 days of Power 90, I pushed play for
the first time all over again with P90X.

On October 7, 2008 I finished my first Round of P90X. While completing this
round, I was offered a full time job in a public school, moved out of my
parents’ house into an apartment, and started dating again. I also lost some
more body fat, and gained a lot more muscle, strength, and stamina. The guy
from February 2008 is gone for good. Round 4: P90X+, started March 3 with
some of my friends from The 300 Challenge message board thread.

The rush of accomplishment after finishing a tough workout and knowing I
Brought It with all I have is what keeps me going. So does knowing that so
many others out there are expecting me to push play. Some days I feel like a
rock star after finishing a workout. Some days it’s all I can do to make it to
the end without collapsing. I don’t always know what kind of day it will be
when I start. What I do know is that I am NOT “on a diet” or “doing a fitness
program”. These are lifestyle changes that have become a central part of who
I am and what I believe in. I’m in this for the long haul, and while I won’t
forget about where I’m coming from, I’m much more focused on where I’m
going.