For today’s portion of P90X, I will do a brief overview of some of the exercises involved with the P90X workout. I will group the major exercises into categories and further explain the purpose of each exercise and if it will work out for you.
General Exercises – These are the exercises that are the base in any workout program. They are beginner level and the execution of the technique and form are pretty easy.
Body Resistance: Pullups, Chinups, Pushups, Dips
These type of exercises work well for some and bad for others. People who don’t have the ability to do the body resistance exercises will struggle on getting a full workout. Also, people strong on these exercises who are going over the repetition range will have difficulty keeping in the target range unless they have the right equipment. Lat Pulldown is a good replacement for someone who can’t do pull ups or chin ups and can simply be a band hanging from a bar
Weight/Band Resistance: Bicep Curls, Shoulder Press, Triceps Kickbacks, Flyes, Squats
These exercises are generally used with dumbbells, barbells, pulleys, or bands. All of these are quality exercises that are best used in a free weight setting (not using a machine). If money is in issue, purchasing different resistance bands is an inexpensive option and can mimic just about any exercise that can be done with in home weight machines.
Plyometric Exercises – These are more intermediate exercises with the goal to improve one’s power. The difference between strength and power is that when you recruit a muscle to move a force, the body uses Type I fibers until exhaustion and then start to recruit Type II fibers. Power on the other hand is a speed movement that can go straight to recruiting Type II fibers. Examples of power movements are: pitches in baseball and dunks in basketball.
Jump Squats, Plyo-pushups, Pitch & Catch, Gap Jump, Rock Star Hop
These exercises can work wonders for your vertical jump and explosive power in sports. Power is also essential for older adults and elderly for reaction time. This enables them better opportunity to catch themselves before falling and avoiding hip injuries. Medicine balls are great tools for several power exercises for everyone!
Next week nutrition and supplements will be discussed.