Support the Troops: My current Hybrid

I just got this email from a new friend on TeamBeachbody.com:


"...right now I am in Afghanistan. I saw that you were a military member so you understand the things we half to go threw to meet our personal goal while keeping in mind the mission. I also saw that your before and after pics looked like you have done well with the program. I like finding people that have done well with the beachbody programs because it gives me motivation. I say "if they can do it, so can I." I was surprised when you responded most people don't. I was wondering did you try to gain muscle threw the program or lose weight and gain muscle? Right now I am trying to lose weight and gain muscle. I am gaining muscle but I half to sacrifice the weight lose process to eat more calories for recovery and muscle growth. You see I have a very slow metabolism. Any words of advice would help. Thanks for the response and look forward to your new response. Thanks again and have a great day."

I thought my reply made a pretty good statement about what I am currently doing so I thought I would post it here. Maybe you can use it to make your own hybrid program! Or call me and let me help you get the most out of your tools to reach your own goals!

Dude (name changed for operational security),
Great to know you!

Yes, I am military; Navy E-6 in Expeditionary Warfare. Depending on where you are over there, you may see some of my peers. They have an upside-down triangle on their breast pocket with a shark on it. I left the reserves when work, family, college, and Navy became too much. I was the Command Fitness Leader for my unit.

When I started I was about 183lbs at 5'9". I had suffered a dislocated shoulder and was still able to pass the PFA with flying colors, but was getting thick around the middle. I started with P90X. Without changing my diet, I dropped down to 173 and gained some arms. Later I did Insanity and got down to 161lbs but it looked bad on me so my wife insisted I put some weight back on. She said I was like cuddling with a surfboard. Now I hybrid my workouts and usually keep P90X as the foundation.

To gain mass with P90X, I like to stack the workouts in a bit of a different way. I do plenty of Insanity and running for legs so I cut out legs & back.

In phase 1 I do Chest&Back on Mondays and Thursdays, Shoulders & Arms Tuesdays and Fridays. I do Yoga on Wednesdays and some cardio every afternoon. I started Ab Ripper X twice per week at first, then three times per week as prescribed.

In phase 2, I use the same mindset: Chest, shoulders, tris on Monday and Thursday. Back and biceps on Tuesday and Friday.

To gain size, I will often replace push-ups with bench press of different weights, angles, and grip widths. Or I will do bench one time through, then push-ups the rest to work size first half, stamina second half. Tony will tell you, "Variety is the spice of everything." My next step is to add weight to my pull-ups. You can do this by wearing a back brace and straping a plate to the front. Leave enough room for the weight to hang between your knees so you don't hurt the family jewels!


You don't have to gain fat to gain size... but it often helps. The reason is that you need a little extra carbs and fat to give you energy needed to really pour your heart into your workouts. Extra protein helps build the muscle, but fat and carbs are the fuel. ...and I know how hard it is to get the right nutrition over there!

If you have enough energy to get 85% through your workout before getting the shakes, you are just right. If you are getting through your workout without the shakes, you may be eating too much and start to gain fat instead of muscle. Just personal experience here... I could do the research but I jus thought I'd give you some info to work with.

The key is to save your carbs for after your workout. Don't go drinking a protein shake right after a workout, your body can't absorb it. Focus on protein throughout the day. Concentrate your carbs within one hour after your workout but also several hours after that is fine. This will take all that carbs and fat and use it to replace the glucogen stores in the muscle fibers to prevent muscle soreness and enhance muscle development.

I hope all that helps! I may turn it into a blog post!