Testimonials

Sherianne N, Triathlete and KONA Qualifier in 2012:

To be effective, a testimonial should be short and specific. Well, I can be specific but to be short will be a challenge. I chose Toby Baum, with Camelback Coaching, as my triathlon coach because he listened to what was important to me and helped me put a training plan together that I felt good about and could manage.  Being a mom of three young children and a small business owner, I had limited time to train and needed it to be effective.  As a complete newbie to triathlons I had a lot of questions; Toby was patient and never made me feel like I was a nuisance. I did the work and put in the time but feel confident that I would not have had the year in racing that I did without his guidance.  In just eleven months, I went from never have done a triathlon to completing my first Ironman and qualified for Ironman World Championships in Kona.  Thank you Toby for your confidence in me and your guidance.

 

Chris S, P90X Graduate:

Why I recommend P90X:

1.  It works. I mean, why do any of this crap, right? First of all, I am not a “work-out guy.” I don’t love the gym and I don’t get my self-esteem from how many burpees I can do. I work out, but I do it because it is important, not because I am addicted to working out.

Before I started P90X, I would have described myself as “in decent shape.” I could play some basketball, a round of golf, and was relatively slim. Or so I thought. I ignored a lot of signs that, in retrospect, should have been clear indications that I wasn’t as healthy as I thought. I was gassed after a few basketball games, thought “a round of golf” was exercise, and was eating tums like it was candy for near-constant indigestion.  My indigestion was so bad that a lot of foods came off of my menu. And I had a belly; my pants and dress shirts were slowly getting larger and larger.

After P90X, I am in significantly better shape. My indigestion is gone and I could, if I wanted, eat whatever I felt like (more on that below). I can play basketball for a solid two hours and not feel destroyed.  And the belly and neck-fat are (more or less) long gone. I am able to do a good number of push-ups and pull-ups and yeah, I’ll say it, my arms and chest are noticeably bigger.

2.  You don’t get hurt. I think this feature is wildly underrated because you are, basically, working out by yourself. I managed to make it all the way through P90X more than once without ever succumbing to a pulled this or a strained that. I did manage to pull muscles when I was heading to the gym before P90X. I was very pleased about not getting hurt doing P90X, especially given where I was starting from. I’m not saying I wasn’t sore a lot, but ‘no injuries’ is a major plus.

3.  It’s cost-effective. I am pretty cheap. When Toby first mentioned the program to me, it sounded a little pricey. Add on the cost of the equipment and I was getting the cold sweats. But then I realized I could cancel my 50-dollar-a-month gym membership. Six months of P90X and I was ahead of the game.

Why I recommend P90X with Toby:

1.  Toby practices what he preaches. I know when I see infomercials for like the shake weight or the abdomizier or whatever, and I see these huge ripped guys or completely toned women using the machine being sold, I don’t for one second believe that the models have ever actually used these machines or tools for actual, you know, working out. I am convinced they walk off of the set and then go to the gym and work out. You can’t say that about Toby. He has used P90X and the Insanity and others and continues to use them. He knows the positives and the negatives of each program.

2.  Toby knows what he is talking about. So I have no real basis for this assertion, but I have been working out with Toby for years and I think he has a solid knowledge-base he brings to the table. He isn’t just blowing smoke, from what I can tell.

3.  Toby manages to be encouraging without being a tool. This is an incredibly fine line to walk, and one that so, so many workout people completely mess up. You know the type – the guys or gals who work as “trainers” but really just want to not have to pay for a gym membership and get paid to work out and seem to always talk about what they do to get their results as opposed to working on your problems. Their “encouragement” is really just “bragging.” Well, Toby avoids this trap. He will get you enthusiastic without telling you about how he “maxes out his delts” or whatever.

4.  Toby is realistic. Toby has a wife who works. And kids. And responsibilities. So when you have something that comes up in your world that impedes your working out, he’s not going to lose his mind. Chances are, he’s been there himself.

My concerns about P90X

1.  The workouts take a long time. Working out for about an 1 hour a day, about 6 days a week, takes up a lot of time. That is basically what P90X demands.

2.  In my completely uninformed opinion, when it comes to weight loss, I think what you eat is like 80% of the battle. I have revamped my diet completely, and I think that has something to do with my results.

3.  As with anything, it gets repetitive after a while. I am definitely ready for a new P90X set to come out.

4.  I don’t have free weights, and for a very few of the exercises, I find the bands awkward.

 

Richard G, Triathlete and Ironman Arizona 2012 finisher: