Is p90x worthless?

taryn_perry

Whether it's a CPT putting a specific workout together for you, doing a Jillian Michael's tape, P90X, CrossFit, running, etc., all are good in their own right, but the results will ONLY come if your eating is on par. 80% (some debate this - but I'm a believer) of any results in fat loss, comes from the foods we eat.

Clean, REAL food is the key. Not the quick processed and "convenience" foods. We need to get back to the basics with eating, as there are too many short cuts.

Tujitsu56

You do sound like you kow your stuff, but over priced? I wouldn't exactly say that. I mean how many training session would you need with a personal trainer and how much would that run you? Even if you think of it from a non-health standpoint (which is retarted), P90X still isn't expesnive. You get like 12+ Disk averaging 1hr for about $120ish....

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your opinions because it helps me to hear all sides of an issue before making up my mind. One item I should have mentioned and forgot; this trainer lives in another city than my own. Therefore, he knew from the beginning I would not be able to train at his personal gym. The gym he is employed by is part of a hospital program and he makes no commission whatsoever.

Darn--there go all the conspiracy theories.

And the the people seemed so SURE that was the case.

Because we all know--trainers are ONLY in it for the MONEY. Whereas Beachbody provides all of their programs, etc, SOLELY out of the goodness of their heart. And the protein and supplements too.

Sarcasm intended, but....sarcasm aside, a couple of points:

Don't get hung up on a scale number. Especially when following a vigorous workout program, "goal weight" can be a moving target.

Focus on body fat percentage--and make sure the method you are using is reliable. For example, I wouldn't question my program based a cheapo body fat scale or handheld device. Skinfold measurements don't always give a precise body fat %, but they do reliably track changes in subcutaneous fat.

In calling P90X "worthless" your friend might be reacting more to the marketing hype and the nonsense concept of "muscle confusion". Someone who is a real professional can find it easy to dismiss the whole program out of a general distaste for the marketing and the company behind it. Certainly there is nothing unique about P90X --I think of it as being basically "meh" and overpriced, but I wouldn't call it "worthless". Many programs can be effective if done properly.

To some extent, continuing to lose fat once you are reaching lower levels of body fat, becomes more of an issue of fat mobilization than fat oxidation. You still want to do regular endurance work, but the focus gradually shifts to more intense training.

jayb0ne

Not a trainer, but then I've also never paid for a trainer. I simply research and try a lot of things myself, along with taking a lot of free advice from MFP and other sources. So although I'm not a trainer I probably know more than a lot of trainers who do it because it's their job - I do it and learn it and soak up all knowledge because I LIKE IT!

Maybe your trainer has dismissed P90x with a whole bunch of other exercise dvd's. Maybe he's trying to avoid losing a regular source of income to free (after the initial cost) home workouts. Maybe he just doesn't know what he's talking about. Dismissing the whole program as worthless just sounds like a nonsense to me.

It's a program including resistance training which you tailor to your own intensity level, cardio which will burn calories and strip fat, and a nutrition guide which while it isn't what I use personally, is pretty much nutrionally sound and will work if you tailor it to your goals. How on earth can every element of that be worthless? So about 100 odd different variations of free weight movements are all useless? Only the 10 or so that he's giving you are any good? Sorry but I call bull.

Your body doesn't care which slight variation of a bicep curl you're doing. All it knows is that the bicep muscle is being overloaded and to adapt to the increasing load it needs to grow and become stronger. That's the bottom line. It doesn't honestly matter whether it's Tony Horton showing you the form, your personal trainer or heck, a youtube demo video. I do P90x to keep me on track and take the thinking out of the order and rep counts etc. Much easier for me to follow along than to get to a gym and figure out which moves and how many reps I need to go with for that workout.

As has been said before me, the key is eating right and balancing resistance and cardio at the right level. P90x does a pretty good job of giving you a fairly balanced workout schedule - just show up and do it and make sure you're hitting YOUR intensity level for YOUR goals and you can't go too far wrong. The nutrition part is the bit which requires some thought and input from you. Plus, YOU have to have the willpower to stick with your nutritional goals. Sometimes you have to be hungry, that's normal. Sometimes you have to eat when you're not hungry, that's normal.

Sorry, I went off on one a bit there. In conclusion though, I'm not one to believe 'success stories' - I know most of them are legit but I always have a nagging feeling that it's all part of the marketing plan - so I check things out for myself. I'm on day 64 of P90x and I have to say from my own results that I see with my eyes and feel with my hands on my own body that no, P90x is definitely not worthless. But it's also not a magic pill which will give you the body of a god... You still have to put the hard work in yourself....

Hope some of that helps...

Jay

fitinthemiddle

P90x is not worthless. It allows you to workout in your home Even in your underwear if you want. What''s wrong with that? However, the workouts are intense for beginners and I think most people find it difficult to sustain them long term. Perhaps your trainer felt that they would not work for you based on his knowledge of you and the physical requirements of P90x.

mnishi

I took a boot camp class and the instructor recommended P90X. She was in absolute perfect shape, not one ounce of fat.

Rain_Howard

I'm sure the trainer had no personal reason for saying. Ask p90x what it thinks of personal trainers, probably get the same answer.

jskaggs1971

Running is very hard on a person and seriously unhealthy. At least one person dies every year in marathons. The human body was not meant to run except in spurts as in an emergency. Also, it's awfully hard on the knees and feet, hips, etc. You may not notice it now but you will as you get older.

I think this is the single most ridiculous thing I've ever, ever read on MFP or any other forum. Congratulations.

Azdak

Running is very hard on a person and seriously unhealthy. At least one person dies every year in marathons. The human body was not meant to run except in spurts as in an emergency. Also, it's awfully hard on the knees and feet, hips, etc. You may not notice it now but you will as you get older.

I think this is the single most ridiculous thing I've ever, ever read on MFP or any other forum. Congratulations.

It's the natural confluence of the old guard medical anti-running bias from the 50s and 60s and the "running burns muscle" hysteria making it's way around teh internetz.

queenfresh

It's worthless if you don't BRING IT! (sorry, I couldn't resist)

Bakins929

Running is very hard on a person and seriously unhealthy. At least one person dies every year in marathons. The human body was not meant to run except in spurts as in an emergency. Also, it's awfully hard on the knees and feet, hips, etc. You may not notice it now but you will as you get older.

I think this is the single most ridiculous thing I've ever, ever read on MFP or any other forum. Congratulations.

Thank you!

AZackery

If personal trainers are in it for the money, then that would mean Tony is in it for the money as well. Why? Because away from P90x, he's a personal trainer and one session with him cost more than P90x.

I'm not a fan of P90x, it's not my cup of tea. I don't own it and I will not own it, unless it's given to me or I get it at a very low price. I do own P90/Power 90 and couldn't do it as a program. I've incorporate it into my other workouts. I'm not saying that Tony's workouts aren't good. I like some of his workouts. In my opinion, a workout doesn't get people results. A person's results depends on the person. I never let a workout work me, I always work a workout.

P90x is not focus on one person. It's designed to give everyone that does it, the same results. A personal trainer takes your body's information into account and writes out a program that's designed for your body.

If I'm not mistaken, P90x has a fit test. A person has to be able to pass the fit test to be able to do the program. Well, a personal trainer doesn't need a fit test to help a client. Everyone's body and fitness level is different.

A personal trainer can help you with your form. Tony can't see your form. He will never know if you are doing things right or wrong. Tony can't even see what you are eating, so therefore he can't tell a dieter where he feels they are going wrong.

I'm not going to say that P90x is worthless, but in my opinion a person can't say that a personal trainer is out there for the money. Because that would mean that Tony's out there for the money as well.

wbond

Know what just made P90X even better...P90X app (iPhone only right now, sorry Android users, hopefully later). It is an awesome tool for those doing P90X or those thinking about doing P90X. The app schedules your workout program into your calendar, you can track your measurements throughout the 90 days, log your workouts, track your workouts (weights, sets, reps), take before, 30, 60, 90 day photos, tweet/Facebook your results, it comes with the fit test and ab ripper x for free. If you on the go and want to buy more workouts on the phone you can, but they will not be the videos, just a walk-through of the exercise and count down the moves....and so much move. (edited by moderator)

zumbawhit

P90X focus IS muscle confusion.... I'm not a beachbody coach, just have done the program and INSANITY and really love them. Changed my workout habits and I was at one point a gym rat to begin with.

OK... it's not that these things are worthless, BUT at this point, if you have already been doing a routine of these things for a lengthy amount of time, he is absolutely CORRECT! While these things would be great for maintainence, they are not going to serve you any purpose if you want to lose the remaining BFP. In order to do this, you must insert some muscle confusion... different strength exercises. You're probably right. The stuff he's giving you may VERY MUCH resemble what you're doing in your P90X routine, BUT if it even slightly works the muscles in a different manner, you are going to begin burning off that body fat at a quicker rate (by the spring) instead of the lengthy amount of time it would take with a routine that your body is already accustomed to. If he's a good trainer and is keeping you moving toward this goal, he will probably change your routine up again in 6-8 weeks. At that time, he may even send you back to what you were doing... it's all about the muscle confusion. It's not that you can't keep with your running/P90X routine, it's just that it won't benefit you toward those goals right now. Does that make sense?

Ok, well obviously by your quotes and come-backs to so many statements, you're out to argue and are not really open-minded to anyone else's opinions, but I will say it again: P90X, if done on a regular basis, is NOT muscle confusion. Does it work? Yes. But if she is trying to get rid of the remaining body fat, she needs to change up the routine. Anything you do for an extended amount of time is not muscle confusion. Period. Your body gets used to it and no longer gives the same results... at least not as quickly as she is going to want them. P90X works the different muscles, but it is not MUSCLE CONFUSION if you do the same thing all the time... even if you're alternating days on the muscle groups. The same muscles are still being worked. That's why it's P NINETY X... maximum results in 90 days.

erickirb

Ok, well obviously by your quotes and come-backs to so many statements, you're out to argue and are not really open-minded to anyone else's opinions, but I will say it again: P90X, if done on a regular basis, is NOT muscle confusion. Does it work? Yes. But if she is trying to get rid of the remaining body fat, she needs to change up the routine. Anything you do for an extended amount of time is not muscle confusion. Period. Your body gets used to it and no longer gives the same results... at least not as quickly as she is going to want them. P90X works the different muscles, but it is not MUSCLE CONFUSION if you do the same thing all the time... even if you're alternating days on the muscle groups. The same muscles are still being worked. That's why it's P NINETY X... maximum results in 90 days.

P90X is not the same thing all the time, your workout routine changes ofter. Once after week 3, again after week 4, the next changes comes again after week 7, then another change after week 8, week 9, week 10, week 11. So you change up your routine 7-8 times in 90 days, if that is not muscle confusion then what is?

Acg67

From Martin Berkhan

You are not methodical.

The only thing that should be changing from week to week is the load on the bar or the reps with the same load you used last time. If you're doing it right, these should be increasing. Everything else stays the same; the movements and the order you did them in, the sets and the rest periods in between sets. You don't add in new stuff.

This is the only way you can fairly evaluate your progress and see if you're headed in the right direction. It might sound tedious to keep doing the same movements every week and the appeal of "mixing it up" can seem strong.

However, the tediousness will soon be replaced by the much stronger joy you get from seeing your lifts go up on a weekly basis. Don't fall for "muscle confusion" bull****. The only ones confused are the people who keep talking about such nonsense.

Barneystinson

Well...you could also join a gym and start up a more long-term (and cheaper) lifting regimen like Stronglifts, NROLFW, or Wendler's 5/3/1 but.....I'm sure the trainer may dismiss those as rubbish as well.

Anyway.

P90X works. I've done it. IMO, not sustainable in the long run if you have a short attention span like myself. I don't like working out along with a DVD everyday. I'm more of a "hang out at the gym" or "run down the road whenever I damn well please" kind of person.

I better not be runnin' down the road anymore, though, because as someone nicely pointed out, that's a BAAAAD idea.