P90X is an extreme home fitness program designed by Tony Horton. The routines are intense with the intent of transforming the body in 90 days. This program uses an advanced training technique called Muscle Confusion, which keeps the muscles from adapting to the workout and then hitting a plateau. Included in the mix of intense workouts is a stretching DVD that Tony Horton notes at the beginning of the DVD, that is indeed, critical.
Day of Rest Versus Stretching
You will notice throughout all of the workout routines that Tony truly believes in the importance of stretching the muscles and the benefits of being flexible. On day 7 of all of the pre-designed workout schedules, Tony suggests a day of rest, or you use the stretching DVD. Although rest may sound good after your body has been through six intense days of workouts, the muscles could use the extra stretching, especially since it is not immediately following a workout.
Warm-Up
If you love yoga, the first couple of minutes will make your day. According to the Mayo Clinic, muscles are more receptive to stretching after they have been warmed. Apparently Tony believes in this theory, so he warms you up with sun salutations. Sun salutations are a moving form of a stretch that by the end of them has worked and stretched every muscle. You start standing with your arms overhead and then flex forward at the hip to place your hands on the floor. Once your hands are on the floor, one foot at a time, you step bank into a plank position and smoothly transition into and upward dog, then a downward dog. After downward dog, you push back into plank position before you step your feet forward and lift back into a standing position. A few of those are sure to leave anyone on the verge of sweating.
Head to Toe Stretches
For at least 30 seconds each, the stretches start at the neck and work all the major muscles down to the feet in an hour's time. Most of the stretches are things you have either done or seen since childhood, while some will have you twisted like a pretzel. When stretching the fingers, you may look silly, but it actually feels great. Tony has three students ranging from amazingly flexible to barely flexible with him in the video demonstrating different ways to do all of the stretches so that you always have an option.
Static & Ballistic Stretching
A majority of the stretches are static stretches, meaning the stretches are stretched to their farthest point and held there for a certain amount of time. Almost all of the static stretches in the routine are repeated two to three times consecutively. After the sun salutations, there is only about another minute or two of stretching that involves bouncing in and out of a stretched position, or ballistic stretching. These stretches are mainly for the shoulders.
Is "X Stretch" For You?
At the beginning of the DVD, Tony says that stretching is critical for this program because the routines are in fact, so intense. He also said there was a possibility you could end up quitting the program because of soreness, or hitting a plateau. Although this version of Tony is not the fierce Tony from the other DVDs, he makes it clear that stretching is important and beneficial and should be done in order to see maximum results.
References
- "P90X Extreme Home Fitness: Fitness Guide"; Beachbody; 2007
- "P90X Extreme Home Fitness: X Strength DVD"; Beachbody; 2007
- MayoClinic.com: Fitness Training: 5 Elements of a Rounded Routine
