One of the biggest fitness crazes in the nation over the last few years, P90X, has received a huge amount of publicity and rave reviews. The program is designed to be a 90-day total body turnaround – approached from both workout and nutritional aspects. The program is tough and effective, developing muscles most people don’t even know they have and regularly startling participants with the strength their bodies are capable of.
The Workouts
Each of the 12 workouts is led by one of the founders of P90X, the enthusiastic Tony Horton. Strength training, stretching and cardio are combined and alternated differently every day in order to create muscle confusion. Muscle confusion is the idea that if you mix up your daily workouts, you can avoid the weight loss and development plateau that occurs when your body adjusts to a repeated workout routine.
Included workouts:
- chest and back,
- plyometrics,
- shoulders and arms,
- yoga X,
- legs and back,
- Kenpo X,
- X stretch,
- core synergistics,
- chest, shoulders and triceps,
- back and biceps,
- cardio X, and
- ab ribber X.
The workout equipment needed for P90X is minimal: a chair, hand weights or a weight band, yoga blocks, a mat if you are working out on a bare floor, a towel, a plastic plate, a pull up bar, your handy-dandy fitness guide (included), and water to drink.
The Nutrition Plan
We all know that the average American is a little squishy, typically from a combination of lack of body use and too much of the wrong kinds of food. This 90-day eating plan, like many good diets, starts the participant off with a higher protein, lower carb eating pattern for one month. Protein to help build muscle, and lower carbs to cut body fat and return your digestion process to how it should run.
In months two and three, carbs are added back into the food plan incrementally until by the end of 90 days you are eating a healthy balanced diet encouraged for any body type.
What can P90X do for you? After 90 tough days, you may be shocked at how good looking you are. You may find yourself bouncing through your day overflowing with natural energy and good health. You may even find yourself striking a dramatic X pose when you talk about P90X to your friends. In short, aside from the weird pose striking, it can dramatically change you for the better.
