Thursday, May 11, 2006

"Easy" Won't Get You Ripped

Traci Does P90X Plyo


Yesterday I was working with Ned, the filmmaker behind the look and feel of P90X. We were digging into the infomercial, looking for the best way to tweak the show to motivate reasonably fit people to dig down and reach for the ultimate physique in just 90 days of extreme work, with this unprecedented program.

The voice in my head said "just make it look easier, that's what they do with other infomercial fitness products."

That's when I "got it". That's when I realized what sets apart the customers who buy P90X and get the results, from those who look at it, see the sweat, and turn the channel, resting instead on the latest pitch for the "Bun and Thigh Rocking Chair" or the latest "Ab-flattening Lawn Lounge".

It's "easy" to get ice cream and chow down before bed. It's easy to drive through McDonald's instead of having a healthier option prepared for your lunch. It's easy to skip workouts when you're busy. It's easy to take the elevator instead of the stairs. "Easy" is a creeping entitlement that has resulted in the global trend of obesity, passed down from parents to their kids. "Easy" is why being lean and ripped is so uncommon.

I am not above wishing fitness was easier. But I also know first hand that if being fit were easy, there would be a lot less demand for Beachbody products. It's an achievement, because it's NOT easy.

If you are contemplating getting into a new fitness program, don't look for the one that looks easy. Look for the one that looks hard enough that the money you're spending will not go to waste. Look for the one that turns sweat into results. From programs that get you up and moving like Turbo Jam or Yoga Booty Ballet, to the muscle grinding body shredding intensity of P90X, set aside the expectation of "easy" for just three months, and see what you can achieve when you accept the challenge.

When you transcend that expectation, soon enough you'll find out, that's exactly the choice your body has been waiting for all these years.

5 comments:

psalm9567 said...

Are you reading my mind??? :) I have just said on my thread that I LOVE the X for that exact reason: IT'S A CHALLENGE! If it were easy I wouldn't do it...I mean, what's the point????

I didn't start out that way, loving to challenge my body and mind. I wanted what everyone else wanted. A few reps here and there, but when I got tired, I was done! Not anymore. I want to go further and do more than I think I can, to show myself what I can do and achieve with a program like P90X.

Like I said in the anniversary blog, I just finished Day Five, Legs and Back/ARX. Man, that is one intense workout!! But, I love it and look forward to doing it next week! I love the sweat, I love the water I have to guzzle, I love Tony, and of course, I love my results, even after only five days!! I already see tightening in my abs, legs and arms. Can't beat that with a stick!

So, keep it up, Carl and Jon! Keep giving us great products that push us to the next level of fitness!

Love you guys,
Sarah

irish_robbie said...

Carl that is the exact reason I came to Beachbody and away from the AB Chair, Sauna Belt, Fat Trapper pill days!

It if were EASY, we'd all be in great shape!

Anonymous said...

You know, I have three children. All three are wonderful athletes and hike like troopers. However, my ten year old stands out in field sports because he always chooses the more difficult path. On purpose. Sometimes it makes me crazy because it's so unnecessary and I try to explain how harder is NOT always better. But put the kid on a soccer field or in lacrosse gear and OMG look out..this kid is not just a great athlete, he sees the whole picture. He sees the whole field and what needs to be done and is willing to work along with everyone else to get it done. He is willing to do someone else's job if need-be. He will go not just the extra mile but the extra hundred til he drops.....

Transcending easy is something everyone is capable of....but not everyone is willing to climb there.

I'm grateful to beachbody.com for not selling easy. I want to train harder because your workouts assume I can ...and will. Transcending easy...thanks for putting something out there to reach for.

Anonymous said...

Carl

Where I live - I haven't seen a P90 commercial in ages and I am up and moving at 500 am so the tv is on. I live in one of the top 10 fattest cities in the USA why isn't this area included in the P90 - P90X info feeds to get the word out??? Also crazy as it sounds do you know how motivating that informercial is??? To be up at 500 am and ready to work out but kinda wanting to slack and to flip on the tv and see what it was that drew me to that product?? BAM ! gets me off the couch every time.

So when is the new info-mercials going to be released? and where --- hopefully in Columbus OH so we can shake this top ten fattest city claim.

Anonymous said...

Carl,

I agree with Joyce. I haven't seen the new infomercial on TV at all. People keep asking me about it, but no one has seen it or knows where to find it. Please release it and put a schedule back on the Beachbody site so we know when and where it's playing. Thanks!

Mary Mc