P90X, P90X2 & P90X3 Workout Tips

Many people have asked me if there were any tips that I could share with them when it comes to the P90X, P90X2 and even P90X3 (coming out winter 2013) workouts. Truth be told, Tony Horton is constantly feeding us tips to make our workout session more impactful and sometimes more enjoyable.

There are, however, some personal experience as well as lessons that I had learned that have helped me getting the maximum result from the workout. Here they are and let me know what you think or if you have others to contribute.

1. Focus your mind on the muscle you’re training

Be sure that for every rep of every set during your workout you’re thinking about the muscle(s) being trained. Why? Researchers discovered that subjects who focused their mind on the muscle being trained had significantly more muscle activity than those who thought about other things. More muscle recruitment can result in more muscle growth in the long run.

2. Add forced reps on the last sets

For the last set of each weight routine after reaching failure, go for 1 to 3 extra forced reps. According to studies,  when subjects performed a workout with forced reps, their growth hormone levels were almost 4,000% higher than without using forced reps. This is useful for those of us who wants to gain mass.

3. Don’t train to failure on every set

Australian scientists have reported that training with one set to failure increases strength better than taking no sets to failure. However, when subjects did more than one set to failure, strength gains were lowered by almost half compared to the subjects doing just one set to failure. I read about this on a body building website and still have some reservations about it because I haven’t yet experienced higher strength gains by getting to failure with less set.

4. Vary your rep speed

Remember the “3-slow and 3-fast pushups” in P90X? Ever wondered why Tony asked us to do the slow-mo pushups? There are actually reason for it. Doing regular or fast speed weight training causes our muscle fibers to twitch quickly. Fast twitching muscle fibers have the greatest potential for strength increases. On the other hand, slow-mo weight training will help us gain more muscle mass. A good mix of both is the best way to maximize strength and size.

5. If you have to do “Doubles”…

There’s a reason why we do weight training on one day and cardio on a different day. Some researchers found that when subjects did cardio before weights, their growth hormone response to the weight workout was blunted by about 1,100% compared to when they lifted first and ended with cardio. Now you know why. If you ever have to do doubles to increase the calorie deficit, do the cardio after weights, hours later.

So what do you think? Please feel free to share your comments and/or tips in the comment section below.

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