Power 90 Extreme, or P90X, is a home fitness program created by Tony Horton and Beachbody Fitness. Incorporating a variety of exercises and targeting multiple muscle groups, P90X relies on warm-up and cooldown stretches to help prevent injury. In addition to the brief stretch routines performed before and after exercising, P90X includes a longer, optional stretching routine to be performed on your rest day.
Daily Warm-Up Stretches
Due to the demanding nature of P90X's daily workouts, all exercise routines but the Ab Ripper X include warm-up stretches. While the length of these stretch routines varies depending on the exercise being performed, they generally range from five to 10 minutes in length. Despite the limited length of the stretch routines at the beginning of the P90X DVDs, you should ensure that you feel warmed up and adequately stretched before beginning a workout. As such, you may wish to pause the DVD or repeat the warm-up routine if you do not feel that the daily warm-up is adequate.
Daily Cooldown Stretches
In addition to the daily warm-up stretch routine, all DVDs include a cooldown stretch routine. Similar to the warm-up routines, the cooldown stretches vary in length depending on the exercise being performed. Ranging from three to five minutes in length, these cooldown routines help you to avoid stiffness and soreness following a particularly demanding workout. As is true of the warm-up routine, the length of the cooldown routine is not limited to what appears on the DVD, but it should be performed for at least three to five minutes daily.
Stretch X
In addition to the daily warm-up and cooldown stretches, P90X includes an entire stretch routine known as Stretch X. Though optional, the Stretch X routine can help to reduce your risk of injury while augmenting your overall fitness gains over the course of the P90X program. At 57 minutes and 32 seconds in length, the Stretch X routine incorporates stretches from kenpo, karate and yoga, targeting muscle groups throughout your body to help maintain fitness and flexibility gains.
How Long Do You Have to Do P90X Stretches?
With the exception of the Yoga X routine, each P90X DVD is slightly under an hour in length. Combining the daily warm-up and cooldown routines, you should spend approximately 10 to 15 minutes per day stretching. While this is the amount suggested by the P90X DVDs, the program emphasizes the importance of warm-ups and stretches. As such, you may wish to add the optional Stretch X routine if you wish to get more from the P90X program.
