P90X too easy?!

N

Noliboli

Member
OK, I just completed my first week of P90X. I thought this was supposed to be hard! The PlyoX ("The mother of all P90X workouts"!) wasn't nearly as hard as any Imax. My heartrate never crossed the anerobic threshold and I burned WAY fewer calories. Same for Kenpo X. I found myself jumping a lot just to keep my heart rate up. I did two extra cardio sessions this week because I didn't feel like I was working hard enough. I will concede that Ab Ripper X kicked my butt big time. I completed it - but was sooooo sore the next two days!

Should I give up on P90X cardio but keep the strength training) and just do Cathe instead? Did anyone else find this too easy or am I doing something wrong? Thanks for the input!:)
 
You are supposed to be keeping your HR lower than a typical cardio that you are probably used to. Depends on what you want- have you done a search on this topic? I know we've discussed it before; I remember everyone basically evaluating what they each wanted from P90X and taking it from there. HTH
 
I think the point of P90X is the strength training and the cardio is, as Amy said, not supposed to kick your HR through the roof, particularly KenpoX.

I would keep going if I were you, but maybe if you want more cardio, do the Doubles rotation.
 
I agree with Shelley. I started the P90X classic rotation in January and I add in Cathe cardio or other cardio several times a week. I also add in an extra lower body weight training when I have time. You need to do what works best for you.

Good Luck,

Diana
 
I did PlyoX and it isn't as intense as Cathe's harder workouts cardio wise, but if you did every move in proper form and not "cheat", it is a decent cardio workout. You can skip through his breaks if you find it too easy. I think the overall program of P90X is different for each person, but it is a totally different mindset from Cathe workouts IMO. Tony focuses on building strength vs. doing the set amount of reps so if you need to up your weight and not do as many reps, your strength, believe it or not, does increase. Like others said, the cardio isn't meant to skyrocket your HR up the roof, but to compliment the whole workout regime including the strength training portion. Also, overdoing cardio for some people actually "eats away" at their muscle so try to figure out what your body responds to and go with that.

Lisa
 
While I just got my HRM when I started P90X this past week also, I showed a calorie burn of 691 with PlyoX.

The only comparison with Cathe I have is the added cardio session I did - first 30 min of Lo Max - which gave me a 321 calorie burn.

All in all, I was definitely sweating hard with the Plyo, but did have fun with KenpoX this AM. Got about a 485 calorie burn.

On the lifting days I am trying to add another 30 min. of additional cardio since a couple of the weight days burn 200 - 300 calories only.

We'll see how it goes as I am only beginning Phase 1/week 2 tomorrow.
 
I just finished my first P90X rotation and I just want to say that during your first rotation I think you are defeating the purpose of the X if you add additional cardio. I learned a lot about my body over the past 3 months...and one of the main things I learned was that I was doing more cardio than I needed to maintain my weight and make strength gains. The purpose of P90X is not to lose weight but to increase your strength. I did not follow the eating plan...lowered my cardio...upped my strength and lost 4% body fat in 90 days.

Just my 2 cents...good luck with your rotation.

Debra

Bite off more than you can chew. Then chew it---Ella Williams
 
Debra, did you do the classic or doubles rotation? I'm just finishing my first recovery week, and have to decide whether I'm going to do classic or doubles, beginning Wednesday. I really would love to do doubles because I feel like I'm missing doing cardio, I actually "cheated" and went on a hike yesterday and felt so good! From the looks of it CardioX isn't very strenuous at all so I guess if I do doubles I'll have to keep the cardio very light and low (if I do something other than CardioX for those three days you add cardio.) I'm very curious about your experience - would you recommend not adding additional cardio and just sticking it out with the classic rotation for the best results? Do you think that if you had done lots of cardio you wouldn't have had the fuel needed to build strength the way the program is supposed to? My body REALLY does feel like it wants a heavy cardio workout - did you have that feeling and just resist it?

BTW I'm very impressed with the original poster - my first 3 weeks of P90x definitely did NOT feel easy to me - the chest and back workout was a killer, with all the pushups and pullups, and I guess I'm in the minority because I find PlyoX very challenging, right up there with the IMAXs. The rest of the week was easier but for me definitely a challenge!
 
When I first did p90X years ago, the cardio felt hard. Now when I do the cardio workouts, I don't feel like my HR gets very high at all. I still do them occasionally, though, just because I enjoy the workouts.
 
As others have already expressed, the cardio isn't supposed to work you that hard but if you aren't completely whiped out from doing the weight work, you aren't lifting heavy enough. Increase your weights.
 
Hi Noliboli,

Is it just the cardio that feels too easy or the weights as well? As Johnswife posted, you should definitely be feeling spent at the end of the weight work or increasing your weight if you're not.

There are a couple of rounds in PlyoX that feel a little easy for me. One that comes to mind is the "pretend your jumping across a river (or something)" move. I usually sub a Cathe Boot Camp move like the Terminator Climbers or Sumo Squats to make it a little harder.
 
Hi Diane...I would suggest just doing the classic rotation during your first round...I, too, felt like I should add cardio ....especially during that first week or 2...but then I think you kind of figure out how heavy you can really go with weights....and I gotta tell you...If you go as heavy as you can and really only do the 8-10 reps to muscle failure...then you would be overworking your body and over training, I think, with the additional cardio. It's not so much that I wouldn't have had the fuel to do it properly...I just think you can learn a lot about your body by doing your first round as written. After you get through the first 90 days and you want to do another rotation...then you can do doubles...But in my opinion, Classic is the way to go for your first round. Use the heaviest weights as possible for your weight work and you should feel pretty fatigued by the end of the week...even without the cardio! Good luck and if you have any other questions there are a couple of P90X check-ins in the check ins and challenges forum. I am on the Xers check in...and I think we have all finished at least one round of the X and a few of the ladies are going to start round #2 on April 1...They are all great and would be happy to give you their opinions...just jump right in if you want!


Debra

Bite off more than you can chew. Then chew it---Ella Williams
 
Wow- what great feedback!
Gayle - its just the cardio that's too easy. I'm so used to the Imaxes and Cardio Fusion that the "X" cardios seem like a breeze. I just feel like I should be burning more calories to get really fit. I did think that "legs and back" could've been harder (my legs didn't feel fatigued at the end), but I was surprisingly sore the next day, so I guess I worked hard enough! I will definitely increase my weights/reps for the upper body workouts this week. Best of all (and hardest for me) is that I've stuck to the diet for a whole week now!
thanks again, everyone!
-Noel
 
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