P90X & RUNNING??

melissaka7

My weight loss has been done through running 5-6 days a week & healthy eating. I saw a short video with Tony Horton & really liked him so I think I am finally going to be ready to start P90X on August 1st. My question is this. I typically run 4 miles 5 days a week & 2 on my yoga day. With P90X is it a 7 days a week program (my work computer is blocking the site) & am I still going to be able to run like I have been?

I only have about 19 more lbs to lose & wanted to be at my goal by October. I know I may gain during P90X because of muscle, but I'm trying not to focus on that because I know it's okay.

jrompola

My weight loss has been done through running 5-6 days a week & healthy eating. I saw a short video with Tony Horton & really liked him so I think I am finally going to be ready to start P90X on August 1st. My question is this. I typically run 4 miles 5 days a week & 2 on my yoga day. With P90X is it a 7 days a week program (my work computer is blocking the site) & am I still going to be able to run like I have been?

I only have about 19 more lbs to lose & wanted to be at my goal by October. I know I may gain during P90X because of muscle, but I'm trying not to focus on that because I know it's okay.

P90X is a 6 day workout program with stretching on your 7th day(optional) which is your rest day. I wouldn't run as much. You may want to cut it down to 2 days a week. Or you could skip the cardio days and do your run, but I would not double up on your workouts. Gaining/Losing weight is all related to diet, so it would depend on that as to whether you gain/lost weight. You may drop body fat and maintain/gain muscle which would translate to you staying the same weight, but losing inches.

timeasterday

When I was doing P90X earlier this year I was running 3-4 days a week but only doing the three strength sessions of P90X. That was quite enough. No way I would try to combine the two in the same day unless it was yoga+running or stretch+running.

linddavis

I do a combo of P90x and running to lose weight. I follow Jeff Galloways run program "Run without Injury"
General idea is to run slower when not racing, and only 3 times a week. Later you can add tempos and hills.
I am 50, have been at it a year, no injury, and lost 20. 5-10 to go. I have added muscle
Good luck, worked for me!!

Monday - Chest and Back
Tues. - Run 3 or 4 miles
Wednes - . Shoulders and Arms
Thurs. - Run 3 or 4 miles
Friday - Fun Day! Kenpo or Yoga or Stretch
Sat. - Long Run 6 miles +
Sunday - rest

melissaka7

Thanks for your responses so far. Looks like I can maybe run 3 days a week which I can handle.

Also, I just heard I should be upping my calories. I only eat around 1200 now, but with this program I'll have to eat more. Yikes for me.

jrompola

Thanks for your responses so far. Looks like I can maybe run 3 days a week which I can handle.

Also, I just heard I should be upping my calories. I only eat around 1200 now, but with this program I'll have to eat more. Yikes for me.

It depends what your goals are. If your goal is to drop lbs you'd probably want to be around 1400-1700 calories a day. You kind of have to play around with the nutrition for a few weeks to see what works. You want to fuel your workouts and 1200 may be a little low.

linddavis

Forgot to say I also do abs on Mon. & Wednes. after arm and shoulders etc. And I do 1200 calories.
Emphasis on on protein and carbs. I also drink Muscle Milk/choc.
after every workout, helps w/ recovery/soreness.

I have learned a lot this year!!

DavidMartinez2

If you are going with the full P90X package it includes a nutrition guide that will help you with eating. If memory serves there is a P90X "Lean" portion that incorporates running several days a week but I can not remember for sure.

erickirb

Thanks for your responses so far. Looks like I can maybe run 3 days a week which I can handle.

Also, I just heard I should be upping my calories. I only eat around 1200 now, but with this program I'll have to eat more. Yikes for me.

It depends what your goals are. If your goal is to drop lbs you'd probably want to be around 1400-1700 calories a day. You kind of have to play around with the nutrition for a few weeks to see what works. You want to fuel your workouts and 1200 may be a little low.

I would also say 1400-1700 is too low. The P90X diet guide sets the lowest caloric intake at 1800, and that does not include extra running. So I would say 1700-2000+ depending on how much you run

erickirb

If you are going with the full P90X package it includes a nutrition guide that will help you with eating. If memory serves there is a P90X "Lean" portion that incorporates running several days a week but I can not remember for sure.

OP I would not do the lean version, more cardio less strength, and since you already do a lot of cardio you will need the strength portion of the program more so than the cardio portions.

JoRocka

1200 is BEYOND low for a P90X plan.

I do a lot of similar workouts- and I train usually 4-5 days a week- and I'm "cutting" at 1900 (I feel like it's more like dying rather than cutting but that's because I'm a big baby who hates being hungry)...

no way 1200 is going to be adequate- you could potentially burn upwards of 5-600 in an hour or more if you are really pushing it.

melissaka7

Yeah, I'm well aware 1200 is going to be too low. It's just going to be an adjustment to me to eat more, but I know I have to take care of my body.

contingencyplan

P90X is 6 days a week and workouts vary from an hour to an hour and a half a day. There is an additional optional workout DVD you can do on Sundays if you wish. Be aware that if you continue running while doing P90X you may not be able to keep up with what that will do to your calorie needs. They will well exceed 2000 and possibly even 2500 a day. Meeting those calorie goals while keeping to nutritious, healthy foods can be tough.

Even if you were doing P90X alone you would be looking at about 1700 minimum. Actually 1200 is too low for you now already. 1200 is only sufficient for someone sedentary.

melissaka7

I understand that 1200 is low & I've been told that before. I've been at this since May & have lost 25 lbs. It works for me & so I don't feel the need to change it (until I start P90X).

contingencyplan

Just because you're losing weight doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy. One of the main things we try to advocate on this forum is doing it the healthy way. Do you know what your BMR is? I can guarantee you that you could increase your calories to 1500 a day and once your body adapts you will see the same progress while having more energy.

tpop917

I'm doing P90X and running. I'm training for Marine Corps marathon in Oct. and Goofy in Jan.
I don't do P90X every day. I mix it up. It really really really helps with my running time.
If I slack off on P90, my running time is worse.

j2cool2

I did 90x and running, and it's a very potent mixture, but there's a catch. I've done the P90x program twice. The first time I was around 220 at 5'8, I'm a man by the way, and hadn't truly worked out in years. About a week before I started the program I tried to get my body used to exercise by running. Unfortunately, I was barely able to run half a mile, and, to make matters worse, I had to stop several times throughout just to get through the half mile. The next week I dedicated myself completely to the P90x program. I was a bit shaky at first with following the nutrition program, but was in sync with what I needed to do by the start of the third week. Talk about results. By the start of the second month I'd developed my muscles more than I ever had in life, but I still needed to drop some weight. By this time I was about 195. The P90x companion book outlines a plan to burn extra weight by doing the cardio X program on the days of the resistance workouts starting with the second month. Instead, I decided to replace the Cardio X program with running. A month earlier I could barely make half a mile, after just a month, with my increased leg muscles decreasing their rate of fatigue, I instantly ran 3 miles just testing myself out and was surprised that after having run the longest distance I'dw ever run I wasn't even maxed by it. The pounds began to fall RAPIDLY. By the end of the second month I'd reached about 170. Eventually, due to convenience and effectiveness, I began replace my entire workout routine with running and biking. However, without continued resistance training, my body began to plateau, and without variation in my workouts parts of my body began to weaken. Overtime, I developed tendinitis in my Achilles and I stopped exercising completely from about October to March of the next year, losing track of my healthy dietary habits, and gaining a good chunk of my former weight back. Having had gotten on track before, when I was ready, I returned to living a healthy lifestyle in the same manner as before. When I reached the second month, this time, I added the running on resistance days the same as before, but was careful not to let it overtake my workout routine as the tendinitis was still present. At some point, losing weight wasn't an issue at all anymore and I began to focus on toning my body, and here;s where I hit a snag with the P90x/running hybrid program. The entire time I was running my form had been off, and as I had been working at total body fitness for two months and my emphasis on toning I began to understand engaging my core and the value of proper form. With my corrected form and increasing strength, I began increasing the intensity and duration of my runs. While I was definitely getting ripped fast my energy level throughout the day was in the toilet. It became difficult to find a healthy diet to supplement the amount of energy I was expending every other day. Gradually, something had to give, and since I already lost all the weight I needed to and had a basis for toning, I removed one of the running days and placed the remaining two at opposite ends of the weeks, sometimes replacing one of the cardio workouts or the leg resistance days entirely with an hour run. Here's what I've discovered, it's hard to get the same effectiveness at toning your core, or dropping pounds rapidly from any other exercise than running with proper form (ask the guy from the bowflew commercials how he really got those abs), and mixing it with P90x is a good complement because as you become stronger the intensity of your runs increases drastically at regular intervals. However, as your body becomes capable of handling greater amounts of physical activity from your workouts, and in general, you're going to need to find a way to supplement the massive and increasing loss of energy. If you follow the program to the T your body will begin to change quickly, and with adding something like running and still following the full workout it can be difficult to adapt that fast and alter your diet so drastically on the fly. Since gaining weight is an issue for me, and gaining/losing is mostly tied to food, there are certain foods I'm, more or less, afraid of, but, perhaps, you or others can find away around the energy loss because the effects are immediate and magnificent.

j2cool2

By the way, my BMI is 163 and I'm currently 153. Ironically, I'm now trying to find a routine to keep myself from continuing to lose weight as my diet has now become routine, and even with a day a week of "treat" food and sometimes lax workout weeks, I'm still dropping at least a pound a week.

linddavis

Balance! Muscle confusion, cross training... it's real. And the slower you lose the weight, the slower you will gain it back.
2cool... what is your age? I am guessing you are on the younger side? It's not easy to yo yo like
that in your 40s, 50s... For most maintenance calories are around 2000... good calories of course;)
That number has to be adjusted if you are trying to lose weight depending on your exercise routine. That's
why MFP is so great! You can plug in % carbs, % protein, % fat and track it! wallah!

j2cool2

I'm 27. I agree on the slower the better, and, while my initial primary goal was controlling my weight, I wasn't aiming to lose it as fast as I could in some crazy way, it was more about gaining overall physical fitness in a natural way that was effective. However, my body just began to rapidly strengthen and with it the level of physical activity I could endure. I added the run to help facilitate the weight loss, but as I was progressing I felt compelled to push, discovered I like growing in physical capacity, and as a side effect I just got rid of the pounds faster. Also, I'd developed so much muscle the first time around that if I hadn't completely lost sight of maintaining a healthy diet I wouldn't have really gained the weight, or at least a lot of it, back, but it's been gone again for the longest it has been now and I don't see it coming back.

Euroboss

Forget P90X and any other bodyweight crap. Stop wasting time.

Lift weights. Do cardio. You won't get bulky, you can't

j2cool2

LOL. Lifting weights and cardio is all P90x is. That's why it works because there's no gimmicks just fundamentals in structured sessions. If you're not an expert in what to do at the gym, most aren't, it's a perfect place to get grounded in what to do, and in a lot of cases, certainly not at all, excel further than a lot of strictly gym folks who tend to focus on certain areas of the body instead of all.

Euroboss

P90X is bodyweight. Like doing push-ups and pull-ups.

Pull-ups are cool, but this is 2013. Lift free weights and use machines. Unless you're in the military and stuck in a tent with a gym nowhere near by, load your muscles with more than your bodyweight. They can take it, you'll grow and you'll chuckle at the twinks that don't.

j2cool2

It's three days resistance, two days cardio, and one day yoga. Unless you want to burn more calories, then after a month there's an additional cardio exercise on the resistance days. On the resistance days you have to use free weights or resistance bands. Only one resistance workout is primarily push ups and pull ups, you still have to use weights or bands, and that workout alternates after a month with one that's more of a balance between push ups and free weights. Also, there's no limit on the weight of the free weights you use it's based on your personal level of fitness. So whatever you can handle is what you pump. What you're saying and what the program about are the same fundamentals. I used to turn my nose at the idea of getting fit from a video, but after doing some research I realized the reason it works isn't because of a gimmick but because it combines everything considered fundamental about physical fitness and places it in a structured format for everyone. Can't go off hearsay. LOL

JoRocka

P90X is bodyweight. Like doing push-ups and pull-ups.

Pull-ups are cool, but this is 2013. Lift free weights and use machines. Unless you're in the military and stuck in a tent with a gym nowhere near by, load your muscles with more than your bodyweight. They can take it, you'll grow and you'll chuckle at the twinks that don't.

LOL wut?
They use weights. It's not heavy big compound lifting- but they DEFINITELY use weights.

And news flash- not everyone wants to do heavy BB lifting- not everyone LIKES doing such things.

that's okay. Neither one is wrong or right- they are two different programs.