P90/P90X scam?

[Qubix]

So are the before/after photos in the P90 / P90X program a scam? I mean seriously, 90 days and they look ripped as hell?

[Streeton]

It's possible to get ripped in 90 days, the program comes with a strict meal plan that's the biggest factor in getting ripped is your diet. Anyone who does hard HIIT (High Intesity Interval Training) for 3 months and eats perfect can get ripped. I'm sure the before and after photos are of thier mosty succesful clients, many people probally have done the program but weren't perfect on thier diet on thier results weren't as good. I had a personal trainer a few years ago and he would say diet is 90% and what you do in your workouts is the other 10% for achieving your goals. P90X is like doing Yayog's undulating block (weeks 7-10) over and over again for 3 months while gradually increasing it's difficulty and adding different things, like they add a martial arts workout. The same results could be achieved with yayog it just depends how you set up your workouts and what you eat.

[crispy8888]

I have some friends (guys and gals) at the office who are big fans of P90X, and they do get results.

However, here's a really sharp video about how to fake before and after shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU

[Qubix]

The problem with P90 / P90X is that there is almost no pause. There are like 2 rest days a week. How do you build muscle like that?

[Streeton]

The calories is what it comes down to for building muscle. If your putting a need on your body for more muscle to do your workouts ( doing 6 squats and reaching muscle failure, your body is gonna see that as I didn't complete the task and need more muscle to do so). If there is that kind of demand on your body and you take in more calories than you expend, and the food has protein, carbs, good fats you'll build muscle, regaurdless of how many days a week you workout. Some work out days are harder and easier than others, I know Insanity, its another program like p90x, has an active recovery workout. The average person hitting the gym also goes 5-6 days a week. Many regular gym goers and athlete's routines look like
Monday- Back
Tuesday -Chest
Wednesday- Legs
Thursday- Shoulders
Friday- Core
Saturday- Arms
Sunday- Rest

[senorchupacabra]

Well, from what I've seen P90X really does work. As others have mentioned, the diet plan that comes along with it is really a big factor for the good results, though.

My problem with systems like P90X or Insanity is that I don't think most people can handle that kind of intensity over a prolonged period of time. I can't tell you how many people I've known who've started P90X and when I talk to them three weeks later they have already stopped. Even the people I've seen get good results only made it about 7 weeks. It's simply too hard to get motivated for a workout five days/week for 3 months when you know each workout is going to ask for most of what you got. Certainly with programs like YAYOG, you're working your butt off, but I never feel tired or drained after a YAYOG workout. I always feel stronger and more energized, which is why I've stuck with it.

As for the poster who asked about building muscle on these kinds of programs, I'm a bit skeptical. Obviously, these programs get you ripped, I wouldn't argue against that, but I highly doubt one can put on much muscle mass.I know, as another poster mentioned, that taking in more calories is important to muscle growth, but what's even more important than calories is rest. Both rest between sets and rest between workouts. My uncle was an amateur bodybuilder for upwards of 20 years, and the biggest piece of advice he gave to everyone about building muscle was 1: lots of rest and 2: lots of protein. He gave me a workout once that was pretty similar to YAYOG's strength block (except with weights), where he advised anywhere from 4-10 minutes of rest between sets, depending on what kind of time you had. P90X and Insanity are not providing that kind of rest.