The shake weight. The ab coaster. The thigh blaster. 8 minute buns. We've become overwhelmed with at-home workout contraptions and programs. I think we should all be skeptical of an infomercial that guarantees "only 10 minutes a day to the body of your dreams." These statements are followed by men and women who have the ideal body. Chances are, the only time they ever used what is being sold is the day of the photo shoot.
P90X is different, though. It's not a 10 minute a day program. It seems to have real people on its infomercials. Its good for those who want to and can train alone. When I say can, I mean that some people will skip days very easily if they are accountable only to themself. Getting a group together would certainly take care of that issue and I suggest it.
I don't think there is much doubt that when you actually do the full program, you can see results. I've known people to go through it and some had success and some didn't. Once again, much of the success is based on diet, which I believe the program covers.
You might think that because I'm a strength coach and personal trainer I will now go into a long list of reasons why I don't like this program. I'm not. I do have a few issues, though.
1. EVERYBODY does the same program. No matter what your previous training looked like, or even if you haven't trained or exercised in years, everyone does the same program. That's obviously the easy thing to do when mass producing programs like this. Because of this, any tightness, pre-existing injury and faulty movement patterns will only get worse. Should a person who hasn't exercised in years and is 40pounds overweight be doing a "plyometric day"? Probably not. A way to fix your movement issues on your own is pick up Athletic Body in Balance by Gray Cook and perform the self assessment on yourself. Or find an FMS certified trainer (wink, wink). Then, do corrective exercises where you find necessary.
2. It can make you small and weak. If you don't have any amount of muscle mass to begin with, it will be fairly difficult to look all cut up. If all you want to do is lose weight, thats fine, but remember than muscle burns calories all day long. The guys you see with their shirts off on the infomercials had some muscle mass to begin with and lost the fat surrounding those muscles. Much of the program is high rep, low intensity to keep the cardio aspect in play at all times, so strength gains will be small. If strength and muscle is what your goals are, the basic barbell lifts and sprinting are a better choice.
3. When do you walk around with your shirt off? I like having abs, and I'm trying to get them back, without losing weight. I'd rather look like I lift weights for the other 9 months of the year when my shirt is on 100% of the time. That means I hit the big compound lifts week after week. For females, that toned look that many of you want are also gained by lifting weights consistently, not by running and aerobic work for days at a time.
4. Its not progressive. What do you do when you're done? I've heard people say that you just start over again after you finish. How is that progressive? I think the whole thing that people get excited about is "muscle confusion". So would a second run at it be "muscle re-confusion"? It leaves you hanging, back at square one. If it worked, you should be moving onto something better. If it didn't work, maybe it wasn't what you needed. Doing it again doesn't move you forward.
I'm not bashing this system. Its worked for people and anything that gets people exercising is ok in my book. However, its not for me personally for reasons I've already stated and its not for any athletes I train. For me, nothing will make you stronger, more athletic, and in better shape than the basics.
Thanks for reading! Leave questions and comments on facebook! I'd love to know what you think!
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