Our P90X Challenge

So a mild sense of accomplishment accompanies the finishing of the first phase of Insanity. What can I say? The program lives up to Beachbody’s hype. At no point was I able to completely keep pace with a workout without either taking a mid-set breather of a couple seconds or a between-set break at some point during the intervals, but the cool thing is I got better with each and every workout. I fully expect better results in my next fit test due in 9 days.

Lessons learned? P90X was a great foundation for this program, but it, in and of itself, didn’t fully prepare me for Insanity. As I mentioned before, P90X isn’t very cardio-intensive, so you’re certainly going to be playing catch up if you’re not used to intense cardio. And I’m not talking about 5 mile jogs, either. As great as long distance running is for aerobic conditioning, it does next to nothing for anaerobic conditioning, which is what Insanity and most high intensity sports play upon.

On a related note, I knew almost nothing about the pros and cons of different training systems back when I was heavily involved in sports during high school. I ran cross country (aerobic), played basketball (anaerobic), and baseball (low intensity), but had no idea how much more I could have improved myself with some targeted conditioning programs. I remember going from Cross Country — where I could run a 5k in around 19 minutes (not amazing but not bad) — to Basketball thinking all of my aerobic conditioning would carry over, but then quickly getting humbled when my muscles rapidly fatigued and I gassed out after only a couple of court sprints. It took me about halfway through the basketball season before my leg and cardio endurance finally stabilized and I could maintain my intensity through most of a game.

What I realize now is that athletes need to think about a lot of their fitness systems at once if they’re going to maximize their performance on the field. This is what we need to carry into our fitness regimens if we’re to avoid the infamous plateaus that plague most casual gym-goers.

When I undertake a training regimen, what are my goals? Am I trying to bulk up, slim down, increase muscle endurance and recovery time, jump higher, run faster, etc. etc. It’s not enough to go to the gym three times a week without a plan and expect drastic improvement. Programs like P90X and Insanity work because they *force* you through a targeted program proven to deliver specific types of improvements. It is possible, however, to go through these programs and still learn nothing about why they work. However, I’m curious by nature, so I always question why things do or don’t work.

On a lot of forums, you’ll see newbies ask about what they can expect to gain from programs like P90X and Insanity, and usually there isn’t a lot of good info for them to compare and contrast the programs. For instance, can I expect my vertical leap to drastically increase because of Insanity? The answer is, I’m not sure. It improved a lot in P90X because I was so out of shape and could get back to my baseline after 3 months of plyometrics once a week, but I don’t expect 2 months of Insanity to NECESSARILY KEEP increasing it in a similar manner. I do, however, expect my jumping endurance to improve drastically, meaning I could maintain jumping intensity for much longer durations playing, say, basketball. If anyone knows the best way to target fast-twitch muscles (whether it’s high-intensity interval training, or Insanity’s so-called Max Interval Training, or it’s some other routine), feel free to comment. I did come across an intriguing looking program called The Jump Manual that targets increasing fast-twitch muscle fibers to drastically improve vertical leaping ability. I have no idea if it works, but I do like the idea that it is a targeted program rather than a One Size Fits All How to Get Fit in 3 Weeks sort of deal.  What is fitness, really, if you have no idea what you’re improving and what you can expect from doing your workouts?

Anyway, I have a Recovery Week of Insanity coming up, then it’s on to Round 2. I hadn’t given much thought to what creatures lurk within the second phase, but Larry of the Do Something Initiative, has begun the round and has warned all that it is like starting over.  That is really and truly a frightening prospect.