I am currently on day 71 of my 90 day P90X journey and found this article on an NFL football player who decided to use P90X to improve his kicking ability:
Philadelphia Eagles' David Akers gets a kick from new regimen
By Matt Gelb Inquirer Staff Writer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - David Akers acknowledged he was embarrassed. The Eagles
kicker is a perfectionist. He keeps diligent track of his statistics in
practice, games and training camp. That's why his 2-for-10 clip from beyond 40
yards last season made him desperate to change something.Then one day, while in
Dallas during the off-season, Akers saw an infomercial for a new training
regimen called P90X."I said, you know what, it looks legit because it's not some
gimmick," Akers recalled. "It [involves] actually working hard and changing the
regimen all the time."He tried it for the sake of change. He did not intend to
lose weight, but he ended up dropping 20 pounds and 6 percent of his body
fat.And his leg feels stronger. He has shown that in camp. Akers, out to prove
last season was a fluke, has made two 60-yard field goals, including one
yesterday."I'd be real happy if I was able to keep this type of power and
consistency through the season," Akers said.Last season, Akers lacked on deep
kicks for the first time in his career. For a lifetime 68.1 percent kicker from
beyond 40 yards, 2 for 10 was like a slap in the face.Akers, though, was not
overly disappointed with last season. He made every field goal under 40 yards
that he attempted (22 for 22). Of the field goals he missed from beyond 40
yards, many were near-impossible kicks, he said. Plus, he was working with a new
holder, Sav Rocca, which caused some headaches."You don't lose it just like
that," Akers said.The distance was not the problem. A 57-yard attempt in Week 14
against the New York Giants that would have tied the game banged off the right
goalpost. He did not think he had a shot at making it from there, anyway.Still,
Akers questioned himself in the off-season. The 33-year-old cannot regain the
strength he had as a younger player, but he wanted to do something new.That's
when he saw the infomercial for P90X, which boasts on its Web site that users
can "get absolutely ripped in just 90 days.""I liked it because it really worked
a lot with the explosion of the legs," Akers said. "Jumping, cardio aerobic,
push-ups, pull-ups, jumping back and forth, it's crazy. Yoga, stretch, tempo . .
. it's all kind of mixed into one."He convinced Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder, who said he lost 30 pounds on
the regimen. "And he was standing on a chair doing it at first," Akers said.
Burkholder has the injured Eagles doing parts of the training
system.Special-teams coordinator Rory Segrest sees a different Akers, who now
weighs 183 pounds."He's showing really good leg strength right now," Segrest
said. "He's hit them in warm-ups. He's hit them during our team reps."The first
day Akers came to camp, he was playing around with Rocca and long-snapper Jon
Dorenbos. He said he nearly hit a 70-yard field goal. That's when he realized
that maybe this regimen could pay off."There's something to it," Akers said of
his new training technique. "It's not like, 'Hey, take this pill, you're going
to lose 40 pounds of fat.' You bust your butt. It's tough."
If you are interested in trying out P90X, find it here: www.beachbodycoach.com/demaak in the store. And stay tuned for my 90 day results!!
