P90x advise....not doing it EVERY day

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sheerjay
sheerjay Posts: 97 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My friend gave me the P90x dvds to try, and looks like a great challenge .....but spring is here and sunrise is starting early enough to go for my morning runs again.....

Would doing p90x workouts 3 days a week, mixed with 3 days running a week be worth it? Last year I had a mix of 30 Day Shred and 8km runs. I have about 5kg of fat to lose and want to start building muscle and toning up asap

Does the program HAVE to be done by the book and dvds in a certain order?

If I do choose to do 3 days a week should I slowly cycle through each of the dvds or is there 3 workouts that are better than the others?

Any tips, advise, results would be appreciated ^-^
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Replies

  • samigirl1975
    samigirl1975 Posts: 62 Member
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    Sorry I don't have the answer but want to keep an eye on this as well..
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
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    Yes, it would definitely be worth it. All of the DVDs are great and have their benefits so it would be best to pick your program (classic, doubles, or lean) and cycle through them in the order stated :)
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,761 Member
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    YES! Just get rid of the Cardio from P90X and do your own. Plyometrics is awesome though....but Cardio X and Kenpo X are garbage. You barely work up a sweat in Cardio X
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    YES! Just get rid of the Cardio from P90X and do your own. Plyometrics is awesome though....but Cardio X and Kenpo X are garbage. You barely work up a sweat in Cardio X
    Like sweat is an indicator of a good workout.
  • cheekykiwi2
    cheekykiwi2 Posts: 10
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    it really needs to be done as its set out..as its done so your body doesnt plateau :)
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,761 Member
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    YES! Just get rid of the Cardio from P90X and do your own. Plyometrics is awesome though....but Cardio X and Kenpo X are garbage. You barely work up a sweat in Cardio X
    Like sweat is an indicator of a good workout.

    Okay....your heart rate doesn't get very high in Cardio X that better?
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    it really needs to be done as its set out..as its done so your body doesnt plateau :)

    If she eats correctly she wont plateau for quite a long time if ever.
    that is IF shes eating correctly.
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,761 Member
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    it really needs to be done as its set out..as its done so your body doesnt plateau :)

    switching YOUR cardio for THEIR cardio is does the same thing, you won't plateau.
  • tenkesh
    tenkesh Posts: 81
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    While it is best to stick to the program, it is totally fine to pick and choose. Remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing. So if you want to do 3 days a week, do 3 days a week, if you want to do half a workout, do it. Even 10 minutes are better than skipping a full workout.

    As for Kenpo not bringing a sweat, yeah at first it kicks your butt, but I have to agree after a while it becomes trivial. While sweat isn't an indicator of a cardio workout, the heart rate is. After several months Kenpo was not getting my heart rate above 120 and I wasn't happy with it. But I modified it. I held 2,2 lbs weight plates in my hands throughout the workout and it worked better. And what worked even better was putting on gloves and hitting a target. If you have someone to hold pads for you or you have a heavy bag then use it, hitting the target instead of thin air increases the intensity by a lot!
  • fitQueenbeast
    fitQueenbeast Posts: 298
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    YES! Just get rid of the Cardio from P90X and do your own. Plyometrics is awesome though....but Cardio X and Kenpo X are garbage. You barely work up a sweat in Cardio X
    Like sweat is an indicator of a good workout.

    I was gonna address this. I happen to like Kenpo X and sweating does NOT dictate the quality and effectiveness of my workouts.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    Yes!! I have a couple of friends who went running instead of doing the cardio, kenpo, and yoga DVDs. So basically they did the strength workouts, plyo, and running. They both lost a ton of weight and got really ripped up!

    I am in my first week of P90X leans, and I am modifying it a little as well. I am doing ballet classes and running instead of cardio X and yoga X (on tuesdays and thursdays). For what it's worth, I already lost 2lbs this week.

    There will probably be different opinions about this, but from what I've seen it can definitely be done. Good luck!
  • tomusiakl
    tomusiakl Posts: 225 Member
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    I would suggest that you follow the schedule for the strength exercises outlines for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays you could definitely do you bike rides. Cardio X and Kenpo and even Yoga to me wasnt worth it. I did some insanity workouts to substitute these after a while doing the program.
  • loriaqui
    loriaqui Posts: 55 Member
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    I agree with the overall concensus...do the strength parts and skip the cardio. It runs pretty much some form of strength one day, some form of cardio the next.
  • zuluf15
    zuluf15 Posts: 7
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    Would doing p90x workouts 3 days a week, mixed with 3 days running a week be worth it?
    Does the program HAVE to be done by the book and dvds in a certain order?

    I think it would definitely be worth it -- just use the P90X standard program which gives you three days of resistance training per week and substitute your running for the plyo/kempo/yoga. You'll still end up with a pretty balanced workout plan, and when the weather's bad and you can't run you'll have the option of doing the P90X workout for your cardio.
    Give it a shot.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    The way I look at exercise is this:

    Rest is more important than actual exercising!

    Why?

    Because when you're resting is the only time you're actually repairing your muscles/getting stronger. Every time you work out, you're damaging all your muscles (including your heart), making little microscopic tears in it. By working out every single day, you're not giving your body adequate time to heal itself completely before you're damaging it again.

    I've noticed this in the past, when I used to ride my bike frequently - when I wasn't able to ride for a few days, I was always faster the day after 2-3 days of rest than when I was riding every other day. I felt a heck of a lot better as well.

    Now, I strength train twice a week. I don't do cardio-specific exercises because of poor joints and not having enough strength to hold them together. Don't bother making suggestions, I've already looked at all my currently available options. I can't change this until I get stronger or make more money.

    Anyway, that's my opinion, it's what I do. I'm making HUGE progress every week, even though I only work each muscle group once a week. Take it or leave it. I'm not going to argue it.
  • jonilynn70
    jonilynn70 Posts: 145 Member
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    YES! Just get rid of the Cardio from P90X and do your own. Plyometrics is awesome though....but Cardio X and Kenpo X are garbage. You barely work up a sweat in Cardio X

    I have to agree with you. Tje Plyo is awesome. I didn't get much out of Cardio X. And Kenpo X kept changing up the moves so much I couldn't grasp it and get a decent workout.
  • navydentalchic
    navydentalchic Posts: 234 Member
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    I am doing P90x currently. I do the weight DVD's as the calendar says 3 days a week. The cardio days I either run, do Insanity or Turbo Fire. I didn't really find the cardio discs very satifying follwing Insanity. I have a pretty low heart rate so I needed something more challenging.
  • bsix3
    bsix3 Posts: 291
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    I've had great success riding my bike and doing P90X 2-3 times per week. i ditched Cardio X because it wasn't even close to the burn I got from cycling. I ditched Yoga because I hate yoga. haha! I love Plyometrics & KenpoX along with Ab RipperX.

    Just try it...it won't hurt.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    it really needs to be done as its set out..as its done so your body doesnt plateau :)
    I don't agree with this. I usually do 2 P90X workouts a week, sometimes 3 if I do the yoga instead of my regular class, and I run 3 days per week. Like others said, I just do the strength workouts. You will see results. Any exercise is better than no exercise!
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
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    I am doing P90x currently. I do the weight DVD's as the calendar says 3 days a week. The cardio days I either run, do Insanity or Turbo Fire. I didn't really find the cardio discs very satifying follwing Insanity. I have a pretty low heart rate so I needed something more challenging.

    Same here. I lift 3x/week and then run 3-4 times/week.

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