In early February, several of the guys that I interact with daily from a fitness perspective were trying to figure out what we were planning to do next. We had all been doing our own things; everything from classic P90X to Les Mills Combat. Many of us had either just finished up a round of Body Beast and were carrying around some additional body fat that we wanted to shed for the upcoming summer months.
At this point, we all had also already planned to be at the annual Team Beachbody Coach Summit in Las Vegas. So, we used this event as our date to get as shredded as possible. We worked backwards from this date so that we would finish up our hybrid of P90X2 and Asylum 2 on the Sunday before the event was to take place.
The combination of P90X2 and Asylum 2 was, in my opinion a perfect hybrid. P90X2 is by far one of my favorite fitness programs and the Asylum 2 program offered a great mix strength and cardio training. This not only helped us shed that unwanted body fat but also quite literally allowed anyone willing to stick to the schedule to be in the bet athletic shape of their lives!
Goals
This is am important aspect when attempting to choose or start any fitness program. If your goals don’t properly align with the fitness program(s) you are going through, you likely won’t be able to reach those goals.
As I stated earlier, my primary goal was to shed some of the body fat that I had added after Body Beast, but at the same time, not drop any weight. This meant I had to add some muscle while also dropping the body fat. This is pretty tough to do if you have a significant amount of body fat to drop or want to add a noticeable amount of muscle mass.
In my particular case, I didn’t have a lot of body fat to lose and if I could manage 1-5 lb. of increase in muscle mass that would be a WIN!
Calendar/Schedule
The break down of the schedule is pretty consistent with many of the other P90X/P90X2 schedules. The 3 phases were broken down into; Core Strength and Balance, Strength and Conditioning and finally Athletic Performance.
Between each phase was a Transition Phase or Rest Week. These weeks were still pretty intense and while the word “rest” is used liberally here, it is important to incorporate some kind of rest week on occasion, which is why many of the Beachbody programs have them already built into the schedules.
Here is a link to the schedule (PDF) -> P90X2 Asylum Hybrid Schedule
Nutrition
This was an interesting 90 days from a nutritional standpoint. Because my goals were at odds with each other, I had to maintain a fairly high level of caloric intake, but at the same time ensure that I was taking in the proper macronutrient ratios to achieve my desired results.
For most of the 90-day period I was hitting the following caloric breakdown:
Daily Calories: 2500-2800
Carb/Protein/Fat: 40/40/20
Was I perfect the entire 90 days? I wouldn’t say so, but I was pretty damn consistent.
The final phase (3 weeks), I changed things up a bit and adjusted my total caloric intake and macronutrient ratios to the following:
Week 1:
Daily Calories: 2300-2500
Carb/Protein/Fat: 40/40/20
Week 2:
Daily Calories: 2100-2300
Carb/Protein/Fat: 30/50/20
Week 3:
Daily Calories: 1900
Carb/Protein/Fat: 25/50/25
As you can see from the numbers above, you have to be aware of where you are with your progress and adjust accordingly. Because I wanted to lean out as much as possible the final 3-week push I started to drop my calories and adjust my macros to a higher protein diet.
I feel like the gradual reduction in calories along with the shift in my macros was much easier to adjust to during the final phase. Many times, when the final phase starts, you immediately switch to the 25/50/25 ratio and the drop in calories. When you do this, your body has a hard time adjusting and your energy levels drop and you just get plain cranky for the first few days. At least, that has been the case for me and other that have gone through that process in the past. I didn’t really have any of that with the my approach.
Results
I began this program on 3/18/2013 and finished up on 6/16/2013.
Here are my starting stats.
Weight: 170 lb.
Body Fat: 6.8 %
Lean Body Mass: 158.44 lb.
Final stats:
Weight: 170 lb.
Body Fat: 5.8 %
Lean Body Mass: 160.14 lb.
In essence, I was able to add roughly 2 lb. of lean muscle mass over the course of the 12-week program. Now, that may not sound like much, but given the amount of cardio that was incorporated into the schedule, I found this to be great! I maintained my original body weight and dropped the body fat that I had added.
Here is my Day 1 through Day 90 result photos.
What’s Next?
My next program will actually be another hybrid of sorts, this time with a brand new fitness program that is set to release next week! Focus T-25 is the latest fitness program from trainer Shaun T. and this one looks incredible!
Since all of the workouts are only 25 minutes in length, that give me some extra time in the AM. Hmmmmmm… how to fill that extra time? Body Beast! I still love this program and feel like the combination of T-25 and Body Beast will again allow me to add some additional lean muscle mass.
I plan to start this program on July 8th and will be kicking it off with a Challenge Group, but the group will only be hitting the T-25 program. If you would like to join the Challenge Group with other folks completing the T-25 fitness program, let me know and I will connect you with the details on getting started.
As I stated above, I also be stacking this with the Body Beast program, so if you want take on that challenge as well, just let me know!
Summary
I am currently attending the annual Team Beachbody Coach Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada and am really happy with my results with this hybrid. If your goals are similar in nature to what I detailed above, then I truly believe that this hybrid is a great option for you and you should definitely consider giving it a go!
Keep in mind that if you have never done either of these two programs (P90X2 or Asylum 2), I might not advise you start with a daunting combination. Try each program on it’s own and then when you are ready, give this incredible, fat shredding, muscle building hybrid!
Need a Coach?
If you need to find someone that will hold you accountable, answer your questions, help you, and PUSH YOU for the entire duration of your workout! Luckily for you, that’s what me and my team are here for. If you don’t have a coach yet and want one, I’d love to be your coach and help you through a fitness program. I am available to help you reach your goals!
Email Me: coachchris@yourfitnesspath.com
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Twitter: @yourfitnesspath
on your hybrid you have 6pp what does that stand for?
fausey14XG – 6 Pack Promise – It is a nice little workout 4-7 minutes that I would sometimes stack with ARX2, Beast Abs or Ab Shredder. It is available for both Android and iOS. Sorry we missed each other at Summit Shaun.
coachchris fausey14XG sweet thanks man! and yea i know i was really looking forward to meeting you too! theres always next year 😉
Great looking hybrid! Im looking at starting this next week and was wondering what you did on those days you had listed “cardio”. Thanks!
disavow – replied via email also (sorry for the delay here…). I went through this schedule with a great group of guys and we would have different challenges for cardio. The goals was to burn 700-1000 calories over the course of an hour. Some of us were runners, some of us did sprint intervals or burpees or both. It varied from week to week. We also had the fallback of the routine listed on the schedule.
fausey14XG 6 Pack Promise, it’s an app for your phone.