P90X or Power 90 Extreme is a home exercise system developed by Tony Horton in conjunction with Beachbody which aims for total body improvement in 90 days through rigorous interval training. The program emphasizes full body fitness through cardiovascular, strength training, and stretching exercises divided into three 30 day phases combined with an optional nutrition and supplementation plan.
P90X stresses the importance of "muscle confusion" (commonly referred to as cross-training) by switching the order of exercises, and incorporating new exercises during each phase. Muscle confusion prevents the body from adapting to the exercises over time and plateauing which has been considered a key factor in the overall success of the program. Several professional athletes and celebrities including Matt Diaz , David Akers , Sheryl Crow , Pink, Ashton Kutcher, and Demi Moore have unofficially endorsed the product in various interviews and on social media sites, such as Twitter, when asked what type of training they used to get into shape.
History
P90X is the current incarnation of several generations of interval training programs developed by Tony Horton after beginning his work with home exercise company Beachbody in 1996. In 1998, with Beachbody, Tony helped create his first home exercise product called Great Body Guaranteed as well as the original Power 90 (P90) interval and circuit training style home training video. The formula, marketed via infomercials and other broadcast media, began selling well, and, in 2004, Tony debuted an extreme version of the original P90.
Power 90 Extreme , or P90X , was created to perfect the ideas started in the original P90 by researching multitudes of new exercises aimed at better working out the entire body. Tony honed the program in his Santa Monica, California workout studio, eventually using successful graduates from his classes when shooting the final workout videos. In total, Tony has created four different 90-day programs associated with the Power 90 name: Power 90 , Power 90 Master Series , Power 90X (P90X) , and most recently Power 90X Plus which is sold to P90X graduates wishing to push themselves even further. P90X remains the dominant workout program and continues to be Beachbody's best selling product after years of positive word of mouth and heavy infomercial advertisements. In April 2008, P90X became the best selling infomercial of any type in the United States.
Program overview
The P90X system is a 90-day workout routine that uses cross training, a technique that prevents exercise plateauing by varying exercises over days and weeks such that the body has difficulty adapting. Within P90x this cross training is referred to as " muscle confusion ". The system includes strength training, cardio, and stretching. Notably, in addition to pull-up and push-up emphasizing workouts, the system also stresses overall body fitness by including plyometrics (jump training), yoga, and kenpo. The workouts are about an hour to an hour-and-a-half in length and star Tony Horton with 3 or 4 fellow exercisers as back-up. For workouts that require weights, one of the back-up exercisers will generally demonstrate the exercise using the alternative resistance bands. The back-up exercisers will also sometimes perform different versions of the exercise at varying levels of intensity. With the exception of the Ab Ripper X routine, each workout generally begins with about 10 minutes of stretching (static and ballistic) and warm-up and ends with stretching and cool down of 3–5 minutes.
Exercise breakdown
The "classic" version of the program requires 13 weeks of 6-day workouts with an optional stretch on the seventh day. On most of the weeks, Days 1, 3, and 5 of the workout are strength-training for various parts of the body like biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and legs. On these days, a 16-minute Abs session is included after the regular workouts. Days 2, 4, and 6 are for the cardio-related exercises: plyometrics, yoga, and kenpo, respectively.
The program begins with three weeks of the same six days of exercises repeated every week. Weeks 5 through 7 are similar to weeks 1 through 3 except that some of the strength training routines are different. Weeks 9-12 then alternate between the exercises from weeks 1-3 and 5-7. Weeks 4, 8, and 13 are designated "rest" weeks which don't include strength training but instead consist entirely of the cardio-related exercises with core synergistics and stretching added in as well.
Variations
The workout can be modified into the "lean" version aimed primarily at women which substitutes most of the strength training with cardio and stretching. The program can also be modified into an even more strenuous "doubles" version aimed at athletes looking to get back into competitive shape by combining the classic P90X workout plan with a Cardio X session starting in phase two during each strength training day.
Classic Training Block
Doubles Training Block
Lean Training Block
Nutrition
The nutrition plan is broken into three separate 30 day phases working in conjunction with the workout plan. Generally, the first thirty days emphasizes higher protein and lower carbohydrates with restricted calories. The second phase aims for moderate caloric intake with balanced proteins and carbohydrates, while the third phase uses higher amounts of calories with more carbohydrates than proteins to give the body enough quick energy to keep up with the final rigors of the program.
A recovery formula is also highly recommend after each exercise to help the body more efficiently recover and build muscle. The proprietary recovery formula is based on common bodybuilding principles. The P90X recovery formula contains 4 parts carbohydrates to 1 part whey protein which is easily digestible and can reach the muscles immediately after the end of the workout. The recovery drink also includes L-Glutamine, L-Arginine and Creatine supplements.
Equipment
The workout routine comes on 13 DVDs. Since the system is done at home, the user must buy additional equipment including dumbbells (usually 15s, 20s, and 25s or alternatively resistance bands) and a pull-up bar for strength training exercises, as well as a yoga mat for the abdominal and yoga portions. Also recommended are push-up handles (which increase the range of push-ups and put less stress on the wrists), a heart rate monitor for the cardio workouts, and a sturdy chair which is incorporated into a number of exercises.
Usage and reception
P90X has gained a considerable amount of attention on sites such as YouTube because many P90X participants post their "before" and "after" videos as well as their progress. Several mainstream stars, including Sheryl Crow, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Sandy Bell Jones, and Pink have mentioned that they've used the P90X program with success. Professional athletes Matt Diaz of the Atlanta Braves and David Akers of the Philadelphia Eagles are also successful graduates of the program. In 2008, Beachbody announced they would pay 1 million dollars to Akers' favorite charity if he broke the 63-yard field goal record in the next season after using the program.
Several college universities in the United States have also begun implementing the program either as a workout class or by lending the DVDs including Duke, Harvard, and the University of Illinois Springfield. There have also been stories of police departments, fire departments and Coast Guard units around the country using P90X to get their officers and firefighters into optimal shape.
See also
- Circuit Training
- Interval Training
- Strength Training
- Static stretching
- Dynamic stretching
- Weight Loss
References
- ^ Vicky, Hallett (9 December 2008). "Ask the Misfits". Washington Post . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/12/05/DI2008120502362_pf.html . Retrieved 10 August, 2009 .
- ^ a b Carroll, Rogers (2 April 2009). "Braves Q&A with Matt Diaz". Atlanta Journal Constitution . http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/04/02/matt_diaz_news.html . Retrieved 10 August, 2009 . ...
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