There's new workout informercial that's been filling the United State's air waves: it's called P90X. Backed by very popular Beach Body workout program, this P90X promisses to cut and define your body in 90 days.

http://www.beachbody.com/forums/P-p90x-description.jsp

The main principle is to confused the body by eliminating the muscle plateau that is common amoung all workout regiments. The workout system encourages pushing the body to the maximum breaking point throughout the entire working out duration. And the workout schedule calls for 3 weeks of total committed exercise followed by 1 week of relex. And the next level is harder than the previous scheduled with the same 3 weeks of total training and 1 week of relexing. This is repeated for the next 90 days.



Of course, a balanced diet is strictly enforced to see the claimed result.

Has this theory of working out crossed anyone's mind? If so, how reliable, do you think, is this claim? Is it worth buying into this commercialism or can someone come up with poorman's P90X program?

Hmm, as a fitness instructor and instructor in several martial arts, I'd say that it seems rather too good to be true, really. Theories like this come and go - there are a few of these wonder routines invented every few years, and plenty per decade.



My take on things? If you do this program:

1) 15-30 minutes of strenuous aerobics routines/martial arts on alternate days of the week.
2) On the 'in-between' days, do thirty minutes of light running.
3) On two days of the week, replace the the aerobics/martial arts/running with a good weight workout - as heavy as you can go, and push yourself to keep increasing the weight or reps or both. Half an hour to one hour of this.

----On the weekends, go for a nice looong run, or better (if you can) hike in the mountains. Or if you want a break, do a light fitness routine like pushups, crunches, simple squats, etc. On some weekends push yourself - on others, do light routines.

If you have the time (and energy) to do all this, it will probably give you as good results as their 'system'. Understand that NOTHING comes easy in physical fitness - if you're willing to put your sweat and will and heart and soul into a routine and keep it up for three months, then so long as your routine is even reasonably good, you're going to get massive results.


Time and Energy:
You see, ANY competent instructor can give you a good fitness routine. The reason why many people are out of shape in today's world is not because they don't WANT to be fit, of course they do. But they lack the time and the energy to do a strenuous routine after a hard day's work. And it's difficult to get around that.

If you can find the time and energy do the sort of exercise program I've outlined above, AND watch your diet, there's no reason you shouldn't get in shape in three months.

Heck, keep up any strenuous program dedicatedly for THREE MONTHS and you're going to see results.



NOTES for people with knee problems: If you have knee problems, the running can be replaced by cycling and/or strenuous swimming (plenty of laps). And for those with bad knees, when doing weights, don't do squats (obviously), but by all means do heavy bench press and seated shoulder presses.



Now about breaking through a plateau, they ARE talking sense in one aspect:

What most bodybuilders do to break through a 'plateau' is take a break from the training - now, these people DO say this, but then they're only saying what every dedicated bodybuilder already knows.

However, I REALLY think that this sort of 'plateau breaking' rest period is more for bodybuilders and top athletes than for people just trying to lose a few pounds.



The main problem with keeping physically fit is not the need for a 'super-routine' but how difficult it is for a hard-working person to SOMEHOW find the time and energy to exercise enough BESIDES holding down a job and caring for a family.

See, I operate at peak fitness. But I'm sensible enough to know that that's not due to any 'greatness' on my part, but due to the fact that I'm a fitness instructor, and fitness IS my job. So I can spend half my day training - I do martial arts workouts, slab breaking feats, rock climbing, working out against a bag, weight lifting in excess of 300 pounds, yoga and tai-chi, swimming and heaven knows what else. But this is not because I'm in any way better than anyone else, but only because I can AFFORD the time and energy to do it. If everyone could afford to do the same, I KNOW there would be a LOT of supremely fit people around.



- - - Hope something here was useful. Sincerely, Yratorm.

Right - as I said in another post (I think your fitness program thread, Yratorm) a combination of different types of exercise is great for overall fitness - Do simple exercises like push-ups, crunches, knee-bends, etc. one day, then go for a run the next day, then do a simple (or complex) weight routine - should lead to great overall fitness, especially if you can give between half an hour to an hour to it.

An hour would be optimal for an exercise program, what do you think, Yratorm? If one can afford it, of course - I doubt the average working person can.

And I think I agree - if one does a strenuous half an hour/one hour routine for three (or more) months (and mixes the exercise types) it's bound to create great conditioning and all round fitness.


By the way, just a note - I've been to their site, and I think their before and after pictures are rather unlikely- to go from 'very out of condition' to 'perfectly sculpted figure' just working out at home for three months seems a bit unlikely. Unless of course you're willing to make it your life for three months or so. I HATE before and after pics, don't you? They always have them - I find it so 'gimmicky'. Course that might just be me.

I'm NOT saying their program won't give you reasonable fitness if you're really willing to sweat at it, I think it would - but as you said Yratorm, almost any good program would do that. But perfect sculpting, I think that's unlikely. Still, not a bad thing for those who can afford it, I guess.

Well, I can come up with a good poor man's P90X, BuffaloHELP, but I'll need to know just how much time the average person can actually spare (energy too) at the end of the day. Should we start a poll or something? It would help a lot - if I write a tutorial, I like to aim it at the maximum number of people, so that it helps the most.

Any suggestions would be helpful, BuffaloHELP. Perhaps a poll would be best? Feel free to put one up - once I know just how much time and effort the average person can spare, I'd gladly write a good workout.


Perhaps ellen can help with creating the tutorial? - (at least with advice) - are you in the fitness business by any chance, ellen? I liked your comments on my fitness thread, and I'm going to edit the main post and include them as part of the main post - they're very good additions to it.

Take care, both of you.
- - - Sincerely, Yratorm.



Oh, and off-topic, I know, BuffaloHELP, but you have an awesome avatar, ROFL - really funny, hahahahahaha.

This post has been edited by Yratorm, LightMage: Jan 8 2007, 06:44 AM

Wow, it would be great. Please do, also include what kinds of foods should one eat. All I know is that tuna has a lot of proteins, and I would really like to stay away from those milkshakes and supplements of any kind. I really dont like that artificial way for building muscles, and specially having to depend on it. I have somewhere between 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes pero day.

As a MD in Chemistry, researcher of BioChemistry and employeed by Medicinal and Molecular Chemistry (just to say that I'm pretty good with the medical understanding of human body ) a human body does become content to certain repetitive motions. This is often the very force that prevents from anyone into advancing to the next stage of fitness.

Of course, my statement does not mean that eveyone should be bulging with well defined muscle tissue, like BBQ hotdogs on one sunny summer day in Texas.

I have been a consistant student of daily fitness routines but for the longest time I seem to have uncontollable affinity to lovely love handles that no one really loves. I have adjusted by diets and participated in few marathons but my excess flap seems to stay cozy to my body. So when a late night TV commercial proclaimed to change my body, of course I obviously bought into it.

Perhaps my body really got used to my daily routine, although I think my daily routine is considered "extreme" to my peers. My calorie intake is no more than 1900 daily. I run about 1 hour, 2 times a week. I devote 20 minutes on weight training 3 times a week. And well resting good 6 hours a day in deep sleep. I do not suffer any known stress for I know stress can cause some fat storage around body's abdomen.

So, knowing some background to my routine could you devise a workout schedule? My suggestion would be not to post the whole thing under one post...but you can act like my online trainer.

You can post maybe a month's worth or two week's worth exercise program and I will reply to that topic with my progress. You can post another topic on dietary needs for those weeks. And when that week is over you can post another topic that changes routines for the next phase of fitness.

I don't want to be super muscular--for bigger and larger than my body's genetic means I have to keep feeding the muscle to maintain the same muscle mass. I do want to tone my body to a shape that is healthy, but extra defined muscle doesn't hurt

And who knows...you don't have to customize to just my personal fitness routine...

Let's not mention the fact about your Love of Mcdonald's buff , I would be interested in this to because I need to lose about 40 pounds of surgery fat, lazy fat and plain out fat. I was able to run 4-5 miles in about 30-35 minutes I be lucky If I can reach 1 mile without collasping.

The only thing I really need to know is how to burn fat and burn it hard on a poor man's gym membership . I do have a weight set that I work on occasionally, so I could say maybe 1-5 pounds of that is muscle.

But I need to get back to my 175-180 weight range . SO FAT!!!!

P90x Muscle Confusion Workout Regiment - Well Said!
P90x Muscle Confusion Workout Regiment

[Replying to Yratorm, LightMage,44323,302855]

Your insight here was very helpful and very realistic to a working man with a family. I don't need to spend $120 to get more fit than I am I need to workout more. Make my workouts effective and intense. Thank you!

-reply by Thank you for your thoughts!