Featured Content | Put Yourself First : Perry Tinsley - Team Beachbody Coach

Modifying P90X when battling an injury

August 22, 2011 By Perry Tinsley Leave a Comment

It was shear stupidity on my part when I screwed up my shoulder. I had just finished a second round of that fun program called Insanity Asylum and was feeling quite empowered.

My injury didn’t happen during Asylum. It happened during golf. You see, I hit the ball really well and went to help a few buddies find their ball. Since my friend I was riding with took the cart to the green, I decided to jump on the other cart and ride up with two other guys. I hung onto the roof handle and basically stood on the side of the cart with my feet barely hanging on. Well, I started to feel the cart lean and thought I was going to tip us over. My foot slipped to the ground and I hung on with one arm. I impinged my right shoulder muscles. This was 2 months ago and I’m still feeling moments of sensitivity.

So, here I am gearing up for the Beachbody Challenge and chose to do P90X. I kickstarted my program with a Shakeology Cleanse and started to dig into the workouts. It was obvious that some moves were going to need to be modified as my shoulder is far from feeling recovered. When I wince at the thought of an exercise I know it’s time to modify or do something else.

The first smart thing I do is warm up to prevent further injury. Sometimes I see people overlook this part of a workout. Not smart at all. Proper warmup and stretching is a must before and after workouts. Sometimes during too, especially when it comes to strength training. I also add in a few specific shoulder strengthing drills from Total Body Solutions (kind of like physical therapy on a DVD) to work on y underlying issue.

Then I hit P90X hard with modifications. Don’t get me wrong. When there’s an exercise that does not directly impact my shoulder, I am going for it. But some moves require some lighter weights (shoulder presses and shoulder flies) or the use of a chair during wide pullups. Even the chatarunga pushup needs to be done from my knees. Still, I am able to bring it during plyo, keno, yoga, arms and abs.

So, I am allowing my body to recover, but am still showing up to get some great strength training in. If I feel a tweak, I stop immediately and don’t push it. I will continue this pattern for another month and I know an impingement takes time to heal. Otherwise I may head to a doctor. For now I’m sticking to the drills, modifying when needed. This program is intense and experience has taught me when to push it and when to back off. So, if you are battling thru and injury, don’t let your ego take over. Give yourself the time to heal. I know my shoulder is wanting to get back in the game, but it’s not time yet! If you find yourself in a world of hurt, be smart and get it checked out by a professional.

If you have any questions about modifying or are looking for some P90X tips, email me at perry@putyourselffirst.com. I’m always helping people get the most out of their programs. You can even make me your coach by clicking here. Then I can share some more insider tips!

Filed Under: Featured Content, Fitness, Health & Fitness Tagged With: battle, battling, bring it, damage, doctors, exercise, Fitness, health, injuries, injury, modification, modified, modifying, modifying p90x, muscle drills, muscle impingement, P90X, physical therapy, prevent, prevention, proper, resistance training, stretches, Tony Horton, total body solutions, warmups

Eat pizza and still lose weight and get ripped

August 10, 2011 By Perry Tinsley 2 Comments

While the typical pizza is not on one of the top levels of the 5 tier eating plan, called Michi’s Ladder, I found myself needing an option. I love pizza and you probably do too.

SO what is a person to do when they are smack dab in the middle of a weight loss program or get shredded program like Insanity, P90X, P90X2, Rev Abs, or Turbo Fire?

Here’s a few tips that worked for me over the years to fill accommodate those pizza needs. So, you can eat pizza and still lose weight and get ripped!

Go Flatout! Or a healthy flatbread. These are great options for creating meals. Be sure to choose a whole grain option as some companies sneak in HFCS and other unnecessary fat inducing ingredients. Skip the cheese. you don’t need it and won’t miss it. That’s a mindset. See a sample pizza made below. Make it and you’ll love it.

Make your own dough and bake with a pizza stone. Use apple sauce instead of oil and use whole grain flour. Your “Zas” will rock. We love BBQ chicken pizza so we make our healthy crust, paint on a thin layer of BBQ sauce (once again, avoid the HFCS kinds), layer with shredded grilled chicken, peppers, veggies and skip the cheese. These rock.

If you must go out for pizza, then make it a REALLY GOOD, I’d drive 2 hours for this place, kind of pizza. That’s the rule I adopted. Let’s face it. Sometimes pizza is on your mind and there’s that one place that makes the best. So, go for it. The rule I made with myself is I identified the top 3 places I love pizza in Wisconsin. All the places were 90 or more minutes away. So, when I had a hankering for a slice, I agreed that I wouldn’t settle and just call the local fast food pizzeria. I had to work for it and earn it with my workouts. Then I had to drive for it. So, the place better be worth it.

So, there are my tips for integrating pizza into your healthy lifestyle. Yes, I know there are Amy’s, Kashi and California Pizza Kitchen options too. They never were my style, but you may find them to be a great option.

FLATOUT PIZZA

Use one Flatout Light and whatever ingredients you are wanting. Again, our favorite is spicy BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, onions, jalapenos, red, yellow, or green peppers, and other items, but no cheese. Each pizza ends up to be about 220 calories.

Bake Flatout in 350°F oven for 7 minutes. Top with sauce and ingredients. Return to oven and bake 7 more minutes. Remove, cut into slices and enjoy!

See video below on how ours turned out. We baked it at a higher temp.

HILLARY’S PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water
2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
1 small individual sized apple-sauce with cinnamon cup
1 packet stevia
2 teaspoons course salt
2 cups all -purpose flour ( have substituted all whole wheat flour)
2 cups whole-wheat flour

Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy. About 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.
In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.
Use a pizza stone to bake each crust
Cook the crust first for 8 minutes before adding the ingredients!

Our favorite toppings are a spicy BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, onions, jalapenos, red, yellow, or green peppers, and other items that may be on hand in the fridge!!!!

Filed Under: Featured Content, Health & Fitness Tagged With: flatout, flatout bread, healthy eating, healthy pizza, healthy pizza crust recipe, hillary, hillary tinsley, Insanity, low calorie pizza, make your own pizza, P90X, p90x2, pizza crust, pizza stone, Revabs

I outgrew my fat jeans

August 2, 2011 By Perry Tinsley Leave a Comment

I refused to get on that scale. No way was I admitting to myself that I was that heavy. I knew the scale was tipping beyond the place I said I’d never get to. Still, in my mind, I was fat and I kept getting bigger. Jeans felt tight and I found myself unbuttoning my jeans to give my gut a bit of relief and then I’d hide the fact by wearing an oversized sweatshirt. I outgrew my fat jeans.

Fast forward to my first few weeks of Power 90 I was not noticing any budge in my waist line, but I told myself I was just going to commit to the 13 week journey and prove this wouldn’t work (even though I was hoping it would reverse my obesity trend).

Well, 35 pounds and three belt notches later I was facing some pretty baggy jeans that just hung on me. I wouldn’t commit to buy a new pants though. As a matter of fact, a whole year went by before I went to Kohls to buy a whole new wardrobe thanks to completing P90X.

That day I spent a little over $1200 (that’s a lot of clothing at that store). I was so thrilled to buying a 32 waistline as opposed to the 38s I was just about to search for.

Over the years I maintained that waist size and eventually my fat clothing went to donation centers. I hung onto one pair up until this past year. I wanted to have something to remind me of a place I never wanted to be again. I didn’t hold on for that obligatory weight loss photos (although I wish I would have taken one of those). I held on to remind myself of the hard work I put in to live a healthy, fulfilling life. I wanted to remind myself of the reasons why my story helps inspire others to show up day by day and improve their health little by little. I wanted to have a trophy that was testimony that anyone can improve themselves if they just commit and stay consistent.

So, while my fat jeans are probably providing clothing for another, please know that you too can commit to developing a better version of you no matter where you are. Maybe you already have. I would enjoy hearing your journey. Together we can help others.