P90X Unbiased Review

What is P90X?

For those who don't know, P90X stands for Power 90 Extreme, and it was created by Tony Horton and produced by Beachbody. Tony Horton is a well known fitness instructor that has developed many fitness programs such as P90X, Power 90, P90X+, P90X2, 10 Minute Trainer, P90X One-On-One, and etc.


Here's a quick clip of a part of the P90X infomercial:

What do you get with P90X?

You get a 12 DVD set of workouts:

• Chest & Back
• Plyo X
• Shoulders & Arms
• Yoga X
• Legs & Back
• Kenpo X
• Chest, Shoulders, and Tris
• Back & Biceps
• Core Synergistics
• Cardio X
• X Stretch
• Ab Ripper X

It also comes with a complete calender that shows what workout you're going to do on each phase (which is a month of workouts you do and after that they change the workouts) and a calender that you can cross off days as you go through the 90 days. Also in the package you get a nutrition guide that will show you a meal plan and a portion control plan (you can choose which one you want). It also comes with a fitness guide that shows information about the program like what "Muscle Confusion" is, what the workouts are, the fit test, and etc.

P90X actually was made for people that have a certain fitness level. With that being said there are people that lose 100+ pounds doing P90X. Actually there is one transformation from a guy from Tennessee named Richard Neal that lost around 242 pounds doing P90X. P90X preaches heavily on modifications, so IMO it's made for everyone.

Classic, Lean, and Doubles 

There are 3 different types of schedules that you get with P90X. There a Classic, Lean, and Doubles.The Classic is the most recommended one. When you think of P90X you think of the Classic schedule. In the Classic schedule you have 3 different resistance days a week with cardio and yoga. It's made for people that want to gain some mass and get into shape. The Lean schedule has you replace one resistance day with a cardio workout. Doubles is where you add a Cardio X workout in the morning on the resistance days. This is for athletes that want to get in shape before the season starts or just for a person that has a large work capacity and wants quicker results.

WTF is "Muscle Confusion"???

Beachbody do a lot of research for their programs. The science they put into the P90X program was what they called "Muscle Confusion". I know you're probably thinking "is that some gimmick?". It's actually not. A lot of athletes use "Muscle Confusion" to be faster, stronger, more durable on the field, but they don't call it "Muscle Confusion". They call it Periodization Training. Which that basically means is that you're changing your routine just before your body adapts. Usually when you go to the gym and you do the same exercise over and over; you can get this plateau where you start to stop getting results (strength gains, weight lost/gain). Periodization Training makes you keep on getting results by frequently changing the stimulus (weight) and the movement so you not only get more muscular but be more athletic.

Diet

The diet goes in 3 phases just like the workouts. Each phase is 4 weeks. They have a meal plan (where they tell you what to eat) and a portion plan (where you can eat healthy but you can choose your foods). The first phase entails little carbs (that includes fruit) and LOTS of protein (moderate vegetables, and low dairy). As you progress through the program you carb intake is going to increase while protein decreases. This is not a starvation diet. You'll be able to set your calorie intake according to your body weight.

Who is this for?

I covered this topic a little earlier in this blog. P90X was really meant for people that have a certain level of fitness, but when they released it they found that extremely obese and elderly people were doing their program to lose weight or get healthy. The reason for this is that P90X is strongly rooted in modifications. I would say though if you're morbidly obese starting P90X you would have to be creative with exercises, but unless you're working on the same muscle as in the DVD then it will work for you. Also, this program would be good for professional athletes. Did you know that some of the players on the Philadelphia Eagles are doing P90X? P90X is hard enough where people that are playing professional sports can benefit. Since there is modifications for people that can't do something; there can be ways you can intensify exercise (weighted vest)

My Opinion 

Ok I've been rambling on for too long, but before you go I'm going to share my own opinion if this program is good or not. I think that this program is excellent in the way of how much thought was required to make this program. The biggest criticism is that they don't change the workouts too much in between phases. For your first round you'll be fine, but if you're planning on doing multiple rounds it might get a little repetitive. My suggestion is that you play your favorite music during the workouts, so it doesn't get boring.

If you want to get fit, healthy, and FEEL better with any Beachbody Program (P90X, Insanity, and ect.) then visit my site www.beachbodycoach.com/SENSEIMITRI

Purpose of Fitness

What is your "Why"? This is a big question that people inevitably have to answer when they first embark on a fitness journey. I decided to do this topic after watching this video where Tony Horton explains his purpose of fitness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NjFnDNXP0 (shout out to Coach Todd from NCFitClub)  Developing a purpose is good, but I will explain how developing a bad purpose is going to result in lack of motivation and eventually quitting.

1. Aesthetics= BAD

"Man, all I want is to get RIPPED!" Aesthetics is the most popular and most used purpose for people to begin a healthy lifestyle. There a lot of problems with this type of view. First, if you have any type of mediocre genetics then this is going to be a tough one for you. It take a WHILE to get to a physique that you desire. It takes hard work and diligence. To get to the so-called "ripped" you have to get down to at LEAST get to single digits in percentage of body fat.

Everyone wants to get ripped fast with little to no work. This mindset is set to failure. People will quickly learn that getting into shape is not an easy task to do. You have to make a major lifestyle change and only then you can see minor changes.

Also, the media construes our view of the reality of attractiveness. These modeling companies get the best of the best to be on the cover for their magazines. So, first these people tend to have better genetics (not saying that you can get a good physique if you have normal genetics). Then on top of that they add PhotoShop to make these people look better than perfect. So, in getting these result like a fitness model is a little extreme.

Sports Performance

This one is a little tricky in my opinion. I would say that it's a better "why" than aesthetics, but it still can be  disappointing if you're not progressing as quick as you thought. I suffered from this a while back. I wanted to be the strongest, fastest, most agile, have the most endurance, and etc. I wanted get there really bad, and I wanted to get there FAST. Any quick "fixes" to fitness is just a gimmick. There are so many factors into creating fitness results (genetics, work ethic, diet, nutrition, if the exercise works for you, and etc.), and with this heavy emphasis on sports performance it took me away from the REAL reason I workout... for health.

Health 

Choosing Health as your "Why" is the best way to step into fitness in my opinion because you don't have to wait to do 90 days of P90X or 60 days of Insanity to achieve your "why". If you exercise today you will be healthier than if you didn't. If you exercise today you will be less vulnerable to illness and injury. If you exercise today your last few years won't be a living HELL lol. Also, when you exercise you feel better IMMEDIATELY!

During intense exercise you're body releases these feel good hormones/neurotransmitters into your brain called serotonin, nor-epinephrine, and dopamine to give you this euphoric feeling (your body's way of telling you that exercise is good). There is also a mixture of chemicals and proteins inside your brain called Brain-derived Neurotropic Factor (aka BDNF) that shake and vibrate during intense exercise to create neurogenesis (creation of new neurons) and aid/repair old deteriorating nuerons.

Yes, I know this all sounds scientific, but I will go into bigger detail later on what these chemicals/neurotransmitters are. For now I hope you enjoy my blog and stay tuned!  :)  






If you want to get fit, healthy, and FEEL better with any Beachbody Program (P90X, Insanity, and ect.) then visit my site www.beachbodycoach.com/SENSEIMITRI