P90x

On one of our cross-training nights, Oyler showed us the first set of plyometric exercises in the P90x video. This got me thinking... (1) what is P90x? and (2) what are the other exercises? To answer the first question, P90x is home fitness program (12 workouts + nutrition guide) created by Tony Horton. I had assumed the P was for plyometrics (because that's what we did), and 90 was the length of the workout (in minutes or exercises), and then x was to indicate that you should make the workouts a "habit", but I was wrong. After looking through their website, I have no idea what the P or the x stand for... the 90 is the number of days needed to "transform" your body (6 days a week, 60min a session).

The 12 workouts (with a brief video excerpt) are described here. They work on both upper and lower body strength, as well as flexibility. No fancy equipment is required, just a TV with ~6ft x 6ft area to work out in, some dumbbells or resistance bands, and a chin-up bar. How can something so simple produce such dramatic results? Two words-- muscle confusion. Ok, now this is where I'd normally stop reading and chalk the whole thing up to another ASoTV gimmick, but you actually do have to exercise for 60min, so I decided to actually read about muscle confusion. As it turns out, Tony Horton just renamed a well-known training phenomenon... if you don't change up your routine, you'll likely stagnate (like doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results). So, even though I still have no idea why it's called P90x, it doesn't seem like a bad way to be more organized about cross/strength-training!