What I like about Beachbody is that it brings fitness to the people. You don't have to stand in line at the gym. And you definitely don't have to wait around for the 300pound hirsute hercules to wipe his sweat and slime off the bench--unless you're married to such a person (in which case you might want to invest in a squeegee).

For the rest of us, Beachbody is a great option. And I think because it lends itself to privacy and yet balances this with a kind of public connection (at a level you feel comfortable with), it's exactly what most of us need.

As a healthcare maven, I have come to the following conclusion: If Beachbody motivates just one person to set goals and get fit, it's done a service. It will have made a dent in the public health crisis. And it already has.

Sure that triumvarate of ill health-- obesity, diabetes, and heart disease--will continue its reign. But BB and efforts like it bring the countervailing forces of exercise, nutrition, and positive thinking into the mix. This can only lead to good things.

You might be wondering about the science behind all of this: HOW will BB help to turn the tide of illness and disease? AND, how will it help me? That's a great question... and... it deserves a great answer... Thought I was going to cop out with that one didn't you? I would never back down from a good question, but you'll have to wait for my next post to hear the answer.

So this Sunday I dedicated my workout space. My plan was simple: do P90x, take a shower, go to sleep. Well, what happened wasn't so simple. I think I ended up in a kind of walking coma after 30 minutes of non-stop pushing and pulling. After I finished coughing up my guts, Tony Horton (via the video) told me in his sweet maniacal voice that we would rest and repeat. REPEAT? This was beyond surreal.

A few bouts of nausea later, I finally finished. "Wassup now Tony, Wassup?" (taunting tone). No seriously, though, the guy is a beast. But hey, I'm on day 3 and he's on day 10,000 or something. That's gotta be like the equivalent of a triple grandmaster, 50th degree blackbelt.

Well, that's it for now cause even my fingers are a little tired. I'm just gonna end with a little message for Tony: I'm here buddy and I'm not going away. P90X is mine!

Let me just start off by saying that I'm no stranger to fitness. That doesn't mean that I don't have my down days or even down YEARS. That's certainly been the story for me as the intensity of my doctoral program kept me up late on the caffeine and calorie binges.

Since I graduated in May, I decided to do a kind of total body makeover. Yeah, I'm still at an ideal body mass and I don't look like I need to hit the gym with Richard Simmons vigor. I can certainly do without Richard Simmons spandex. So you might be asking why I'm part of Beachbody. What am I so worried about?

That reminds me of the Head and Shoulders commercial a few years ago. Someone asks the protaganist dressed in black (and I paraphrase) "You don't have dandruff. Why do you need Head and Shoulders for?" The other guy replies. "Exactly. I don't have dandruff BECAUSE I use Head and Shoulders." The same kind of logic applies here. I want to make sure I don't start looking like I need to exercise.

And it's not like there's no room for improvement. Relative to where I was at 25, I am one sad and sorry case. I once had a vertical leap of 42 inches, a max leg press of over 1000 lbs, and a bench press of 285. Now keep in mind that I've never been heavier than 140 lbs, which is quite normal given my genetics and the size and shape of my family members.

Nowadays, I can't climb the stairs without a respirator. I'm definitely starting to see more couch potato traits (or yam or whatever tuber metaphor you like) and I'm much weaker. The way I'm headed now, it could only get worse with that band of wicked bad genes trailing behind me. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, diabetes., you name it my family has it..It's the real deal, but it's not inevitable.

So given, these hard but not unchangeable facts, I've decided to act. Number one, I decided to get on the Beachbody train. Number two, I set a goal and destination. Number three, I'm taking that train all the way and I intend to arrive healthier, happier and...this is a big "and"...more financially fit than I've ever been.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. But this isn't a spectator sport. The time is now, and the thing to do is Beachbody. So get up and get with it!