So as some of you who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook you may have seen me updating my status just about every day the past 2 months using some Twitter hashtags called #p90x and #lean.
I’ve also been getting a lot of questions from some of you about P90X and so I decided I’d write a post about it as well as some other posts over the next few days:
- What’s P90X? FAQs from you answered (this post)
- Nutrition: The other half of the P90X coin.
- Motivation: Why start? When you’ve started, and how to keep going
To avoid repeating the same information, here are some of the FAQs I’ve gotten from you all (like 75%) that can be answered by the P90X FAQ page at beachbody.com:
About P90X/Prepping for P90X
- Q: What’s P90X?
- Q: What does it consist of?
- Q: What kind of exercises are included?
- Q: What equipment do I need
- Q: How much space do I need?
- Q: What if I want to focus on weight loss?
- Q: What if I want to train for high-performance sports or an endurance event?
Other FAQs
Here are the answers to the remaining 25% of questions I received:
Q: How much time do I need to work out?
A: All the workouts vary in time. They can go as short as 45 minutes to as long as 90 minutes. Some days you may end up doing 2 workouts depending on the program variation you want to go with (Classic vs. Lean vs. Doubles).
Q: What kind of workouts do you get with P90X?
A: Strength (weight training), cardio, yoga and core; which are summed up quite nicely here; you can click on each workout type and hear a quick blurb on what each one does.
Q: How many days a week do I have to work out?
A: If you plan to stick to the schedule as it is laid out, 6 days, with the 7th being an optional rest or stretch day.
Q: I heard it’s harder for women to get the same results as men, that is they have to work out more often to get the same results… Is this true?
A: From what I can Google online about working out in general for women the consensus appears to be yes. But it’s a lot more complicated than that. You need to take into consideration your body shape. How fit you are prior to starting. What are your fitness goals? What kind of a nutrition plan are you planning to follow (if any)?
I can say from personal experience, my husband looks like he’s lost more weight and is trimming down faster than me even though he is only able to work out 4-5 times a week given he is in the middle of fastball season. But on the flipside, he has more weight to lose than I do. And I’ve been running/swimming 3-4 times a week prior to starting the program. So I think it makes sense he looks like he’s benefitting from the program much more quickly than I am. Also, remember, if you aren’t losing as much weight as you think you should be, some of it may be due to increased muscle mass from all that working out. And that’s not a bad thing.
Q: Does it work?
A: The short answer: Absolutely yes. The longer answer: Your results will be a combination of the effort you bring to every workout you do (you have to “Bring It” as they say) and what you choose to do for a nutrition plan, both components of which me and my husband adhere to pretty closely. I can physically do a lot more (pushups, AB moves, lifting weights). I am almost as stretchy as I was in my early 20s (thanks yoga!). I physically feel better. I’m down 7 pounds so far. I’m one dress size smaller, so far. Will I look as cut and ripped as some of the guys/gals on the infomercial after 90 days? Probably not. But I plan to keep working out beyond the 90 days so I will get there…eventually…
Q: Do I need to buy the P90X supplements, recovery bar or drink?
A: You can, either through a Beachbody coach or through the beachbody.com site. Some folks who are a bit more budget conscious like myself Googled around various P90X blogs and have found going to Costco and local vitamin/health stores for cheaper alternatives. More on that in a future nutrition post. Not sure how it works if you’re in Canada like I am with shipping and duty and all that. I’m sure someone out there can let me know. 🙂
Hope you guys found this post somewhat informative. If you have any other questions feel free to send me a tweet, DM me or Facebook message me if you’re on my Friends list…currently I’m working on adding Facebook Connect functionality to the site but the Facebook API is buggy 🙁 and I don’t want people having to create new profiles on this site if they don’t have to, so comments are currently closed. Next post…motivationnutrition…
