The P90X program lasts for 13 weeks. During each of those weeks you’ll do strenuous exercises for six days, but you won’t do the same things every day. The program strategically alternates the workouts so that your muscles don’t get too used to a set routine. That way, your body continues making headway toward the aims you’re trying to achieve. In addition to the exercises, the program incorporates a nutritional program as well.
All that’s needed is an hour of your time each day. You’ll also need a few minor, usually inexpensive pieces of exercise equipment. And one of the best parts of this program is that you get to do it at home.
The space you’ll need to do the workout doesn’t have to be much more than 36 square feet. As long as you can fit some dumbbells or resistance bands, and find a place for a pull up bar, you should be fine.
Some of the workouts you’ll do every week. Those include Yoga X, Kenpo X, X Stretch, and Ab Ripper. Others, like the Plyometrics and the Legs and Back workouts, are done in three segments of three consecutive weeks. The Core Synergistics workout is introduced during three separate weeks, the fourth, eighth, and thirteenth.
And these four workouts – the Chest and Back, Shoulders and Arms, Chest Shoulders and Triceps, and Back and Biceps – are done both in segments of three consecutive weeks and again in two separate weeks. The Cardio X workout is an optional workout used to extend the daily sessions for people who choose to include it.
The program comes with a set of DVDs demonstrating the exercises and a workout calendar to help you chart your workouts and progress. The calendar can really help keep everything in order. Each workout includes a variety of exercises to be done in a specific number of repetitions. The demonstrations offer clear explanations and examples of how to do the required activity, and show ways to do it in varying degrees of intensity. For people with injuries or other limitations it is sometimes necessary to alter an exercise so that it puts less stress on a specific part of the body.
What, how much, and when you eat is an important part of the workout routine. The nutritional program component provides meal suggestions, recipes, and schedules to follow through each phase of the workouts. Some who’ve done the program included the food preparation into their daily P90X workout routine.
The Fat Shredder, the Energy Booster, and the Endurance Maximizer are the three phases of the three phase nutritional program that is part of P90X. In each phase your diet is altered to maximize the effectiveness of the workouts. During phase one, you start with a high protein and low carbohydrate diet to trim the fat while building muscle. Phase two adds in a bit of fat to your diet, with the goal of boosting energy. And finally, during phase three, the carbohydrates increase to give you the energy you need to manage the final weeks of the workouts.
The P90X system is a tough program designed to build strength and fitness by the end of the 90 day series of workouts. The program offers online support and consultation with fitness experts. Many notice favorable changes after the first week.
If you’ve read through this article and weren’t scared off from P90X then good for you. It’s no secret Tony Horton designs exercise routines that bring results and really work. His next project due out in the summer of 2011 is P90X MC2 the next evolutionary phase of muscle confusion workouts.