Georges St. Pierre's RushFit: Reader Questions and One Man's Journey

This week I'm turning over the floor to the readers to answer their questions about RushFit. I've been exercising for almost a month. Surely that's enough time for me to be the world's foremost leader in exercise science? The world lost Jack LaLanne and I'm reaping all the benefits.

Jay:

I am a big fan of your reports on your progress through the RushFit program and it's almost inspired me as a fellow overweight, out of shape guy to try it out as well. 

The only thing that is holding me back from starting the program is the fact that I live in a small bachelor apartment in downtown Vancouver (though, it's not as depressing a situation as it seems when I read that sentence).  How much room is really necessary to complete the exercises correctly?  I am hoping that I'll have enough room to do it in the comfort of my one room palace, but wanted to double check.

The only other snag I would worry about running into is if there were lots of jumping exercises.  Somehow I doubt that my downstairs neighbour would enjoy the sound of me jumping up and down regardless of whether there was weight loss or GSP involved.

I'll admit, I hadn't considered this issue until your question came in. We live in a giant old house with a porch and a picket fence and all that homey crap, but it wasn't long ago I was living in a small place in DC trying not to get shot on my way home from work.

I do it in the living room. If you move furniture around against the wall, you should probably be OK. The neighbors are a trickier issue. There is jumping in some of the exercises, a burpee, if you are familiar with the hideous torture imposed by many football coaches, and some MMA style sprawling. It does get quite active. That's really part of the fun, especially in the Fight Conditioning DVD. The sequences where you are throwing punches, kicks, sprawling and then popping up to do it again actual make me smile. You know, when they aren't about to make me throw up.

Look, the workouts are about 45 minutes a pop. If your neighbors can't live with that screw them. Unless they look like Tank Abbott or our own Luke Thomas. If that's the case, pony up and join a gym.

Rampager:

Do you do this stuff in the morning or after work or what? I'm worried about fitting this in my schedule.

I started out doing them after I got home from work which was apparently a huge mistake. Experts, by which I mean random internet schmoes, say you are supposed to work out in the morning because it keys your body up to burn calories all day. I suppose exercise is better than no exercise no matter when you do it. But I reached out to the people at RushFit to get their advice:

• The earlier you workout the more your body metabolizes during the day...so your body gets a chance to burn more longer through the day
  
• Stoke the furnace early with exercise not fried eggs (though egg whites are an excellent choice)
• Working out early (before breakfast) this is a real stimulant to your body's metabolism
• Working out early helps you burn off Breakfast, lunch and dinner...
• Stick to the nutrition...it alone will account for your major gains.

Michael:

Hang in there...I'm on day 12...lost 7 pounds 1st week,hoping for 3 more next weigh-in (Mon) Proper diet is the toughest part for me (especially weekends) best of luck to you.

Really it's the diet that is driving me slightly batty. Believe me, that was a short, slow drive. But there are desperate moments when I dream of cheese. I always knew I was both lazy and glutenous. Who knew gluttony would win out in the end?

A million readers:

How does RushFit compare to P90X?

I wish I had a better answer to this question. If you read the earlier installment you know I haven't the slightest clue what P90X is all about. My friend Chris is doing it and claimed he was on p86X and so far had "nothing to show for it except pain." He's kind of a pussy though, so factor that into your mental equation.

Some things I can tell you after a brief internet search: Georges St. Pierre is significantly less creepy than Tony Horton from P90X. Georges St. Pierre doesn't require any gesturing, crotch chops, or gang signs. Georges St. Pierre's program costs less than P90X. Georges St. Pierre could kick the crap out of the P90X crew. That exhausts my knowledge on the subject.

aarodane:

My main question: Is it worth the $?

This is a tricky question. As you may have noted, I received a promotional version of this program for free. So, for me, it most certainly was worth the money. But, as most readers aren't nearly as famous or good looking as I am, I will consider things for a moment from your own perspective. Would I pay $69.99 to feel as good as I do right now and to have lost more than 10 pounds in under a month with more dropping off daily? Would I have paid $69.99 to drop a jean size? You bet your a#$ I would.

retroagehippy:

Weren't you a soldier? This program should be nothing for you, no?

You'd think so. Unfortunately, those soldiering days were five years ago. And you want to know a secret? Even when I was in the Army I was kind of a worthless maggot. I spent more time on the injured reserve than Yao Ming. Of course, after the Army I started running three to five miles a day and got in pretty good shape. That was a kid and three states ago. Here's the thing: getting back into shape sucks for everyone. It was horrible for me, it will be horrible for you. But the results will be worth it.

After the break, reader Johnny shares his RushFit story.

I am 44 year old male with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, & high triglycerides. I am considered to be obese and started out last year with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 based on height and weight of 6'-220 lbs

My risk of a "cardiac event" on a scale of 1-10 was an 8.5

After this diagnosis, I started changing the way I ate and began working out with an older beachbody dvd called Power 90 which preceded the famous P90X.

After about 6 months, my next metabolic panel (bloodwork) improved across the board and lowered my cardiac risk from 8.5 to 5.5 and my weight from 220 to 210. For some reason, I could never get below 210 even though I felt a lot better.

Still at 210 my BMI is 28.5 while my "ideal" is below 25 and 177 lbs.

This is a long way of saying though I tried really hard and had some success, I still need to lose 33 lbs

Watching MMA and the UFC in particular inspired me to take better care of my body and is what led me to choose GSP's program over the many other available programs.

While it is true that any workout program can be reduced to "eat less, move more" you still have to have the motivation to do it day in and day out, have an array of exercises that challenge you , and the willingness to overcome your desire to quit when work, life, etc present challenges. In other words it has to be super easy or you won't do it.

I decided to test the waters and spend 60 bucks to change my life.

The Assessment

At the beginning you are asked to do an assessment consisting of the max number of squats, push ups, sit ups, and burpees you can do in one minute.

Here's how I did against GSP, in order, squat, push up, sit up, burpee.

GSP - 75, 57, 55, 22

ME - 46, 25, 35, 12

Week 1&2

Workouts

With my job going well and long hours, my workouts were intermittent and I missed a few, but I went thought each DVD and liked that they were tough but not overwhelming. No matter which exercise you do, you are effectively doing the assessment exercises for 25 minutes. This has left my body in a state of perpetual soreness and I like it. My legs, glutes, and lats remind me all day of what I did and what is in store for later. I also like the balance exercises but haven't done plyo yet. I bought a calorie counting/heart rate monitor for $60 at academy sports and it says I burn a little over 600 calories per workout and am generally in the 70-80% target zone.

DIET

I went shopping prior to starting the first workout and bought egg whites, greens, a multi grain hot cereal , chicken and ground beef. Only the first 3 items not something I usually bought. I use a protein powder pre and post workout and usually have subway or power bars (or both) for lunch or pre dinner.

I eat the hot cereal and egg whites at home before I leave for work and do what I have to do foodwise for lunch on the road. I try not to eat carbs after 1pm. and at night, usually a some sort of stir fry or protein / veg dish.

RESULTS

At first I was unsure of the simplicity of it all, but I have lost 5 pounds already and my pants are sagging like a punk kid. I am excited because I had not been able to get below 210 for almost a year. Most of my excess weight is between my navel and hips so it is already noticeable. At the moment, I feel confident I can get to 177 by March and be back in 34" or smaller jeans. I'm a loose 36" at the moment.

Next week back to my own journey and a talk with GSP's trainer Erik Owings.