Thursday, November 17, 2011
P90X2 and Sports Performance
P3 performance vid: aka people who jump higher than you
Here are two published articles about P90X2 and increase sports performance in two different realms. The first (penned by yours truly) appears on Active.com and, not surprisingly, addresses its effectiveness on endurance athletes. The second highlights how it will affect explosive athletes and features an interview with Dr. Marcus Elliott.
While this dichotomy might be illicit some confusion since a common sentiment is that power and endurance don’t mix, we both provide rationale for a changing idiom. For example, here's my brief explanation on how increased power, or muscular efficiency, can lead to improved performance during endurance sports.
The goal of the final phase is to transfer the strength gains you've made into muscular efficiency. While explosiveness isn't a goal for many endurance athletes, muscular efficiency can enable you to engage higher threshold muscle cell motor units at lower aerobic outputs. If that description draws a blank, you'll probably understand this; muscular efficiency allows you to save precious glycogen stores for later points in a race, which is often the difference between finisher and medalist.
Dr. Elliott goes on to analyze how the program works and the importance of both power and stability for athletes of all types, primarily those in power sports. He sums up his interview with:
It’s more than just losing weight or bulking up. You will wake up proprioceptive awareness, balance and a sense of stability with the legs, trunk and shoulders. The PAP segments will improve athleticism with big and powerful movements. It’s about making your body feel like its designed to be an athlete.
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18 comments:
Wouldn't high molecular weight carbs like karbolyn restore glycogen store extremely fast even during training, so why would saving Glycogen be one of the goals for these athletes?
Thanks forthe info and links. Very informative and I can't wait to go through MC2. I just wish I could start it now. My concern is that the program will break me down during my training fir the Southern X in February and SUB 9 March in well March. How well do you think it will mix with endurance CX/MTB training?
I am very excited about P90X2. But also somewhat intimidated, and so I'm doing another round of P90X, following the calendar, no days off (doing the optional x stretch), in the hope that it will prepare me for P90X2. Is this strategy sound?
I started following your blog because of your workout from hell for climbing experiment last year. What are your thoughts on P90X2 as a way to improve your climbing?
Some glycogen is always utilized even during low-level outputs and given a racing cyclist is probably burning over 1,000 cals/hr but can only utilize around 300 per hour there is always a race with exhaustion. There is simply no way to keep up with the nutrition that is being lost during a race due to the limitations of eating and digesting. Sports foods work great but are still limited and the end of races come down to who has saved the most of their resources through fitness, strategy, and/or doping (unfortunately).
Thad,
For sure it will interfere. If those races are a priority you'll have to abridge somewhat. The other option is to train through them knowing your performance will suffer but the training volume will help you later in the year. In a full season of riding there are always races like this. I catagorize them (when I race) into A, B, and C races. I train through C and B races, using C as training only, B as race prep, and peak for A races only.
Chris, you'll be fine fitness wise. The balance issue will take some time but you won't be alone there and there are plenty of modifications to keep the intensity high as you're learning new things.
Josh, it's the best program for climbing (as far as home workouts programs go) that's been devised so far, by far. I'll be writing on this in a DPM article.
Like the scenario with the bike racer, there are definitely considerations with timing for sports but it's going to help with climbing a lot.
So P90X2 would help my performance in soccer?
Have you ever used an altitude chamber steve? If compared to doping, how would the 2 differ in terms of results regarding the RBC increase?
Hey Steve, I've suffered from IT band syndrome for about 6 years. I don't really care about running, but I can't really backpack anymore because of it, which is the biggest bummer. I'm about to start up PT for a second time for it, but my faith in most therapists is diminished since my last bout with it did nothing.
I've heard you say that p90x2 is designed to balance out your kinetic chain. If so, will that help me with my problem, since from what I've learned, ITBS mostly comes from tight and or week muscles in the butt and hip? (tensor fascia latae)
Thanks for doin what you do! Really appreciate it.
Ted G.
Hey Steve, I've suffered from IT band syndrome for about 6 years. I don't really care about running, but I can't really backpack anymore because of it, which is the biggest bummer. I'm about to start up PT for a second time for it, but my faith in most therapists is diminished since my last bout with it did nothing.
I've heard you say that p90x2 is designed to balance out your kinetic chain. If so, will that help me with my problem, since from what I've learned, ITBS mostly comes from tight and or week muscles in the butt and hip? (tensor fascia latae)
Thanks for doin what you do! Really appreciate it.
Ted G.
My question would be will P90X2 help to develop muscle mass if one were to bulk throughout the program? It would sound like a good idea especially since in the last phase there are highly explosive movements, which target the fast twitch, or type II, muscle fibers, the ones with the most potential for size, strength, and power.
"Alejandrino Trujillo said...
My question would be will P90X2 help to develop muscle mass if one were to bulk throughout the program? "
If you wanna bulk, then do an old school bodybuilding routine. P90X2 just like P90X before it is for fitness and performance, which is great but you're not gonna end up with 18" guns.
Thanks for answering my question, Steve. I hope the learning curve for the balance moves might be similar to the practice I needed to get some of the P90X yoga moves down, which seemed to be issues related to balance and unfamiliar positions/contortions. Happy Thanksgiving!
Soccer, yes! 100%
I haven't tried an altitude chamber but would like to. Almost bought one once but basically didn't have a place to put it. I have slept at altitude for training and it's definitely an advantage. Not like doping at all, but it is helpful.
X2 will absolutely help with your IT band.
And while it's not a mass program--and you'd be hard pressed to adhere to mass principles out of the gate with it, you will definitely improve your capacity for mass by improving muscular efficiency that will allow you to push more weight when you target hypertrophy.
... and read my phase III prep phase blog where I'll touch on the latter subject in more depth.
Steve,
In training for a triathlon, how soon before a race should I complete P90X2 in order to get the full benefits from the PAP workouts?
Thanks!
You've got a LOT of leeway in endurance sports. Power gains take a while to fall off. In power sports, when first and last is often measured in inches or seconds, it's important to stay on top of this. But endurance sports don't matter nearly as much. Those things will increase your capacity for speed for a long time, up to a year or so (in dgrees of course). So you want to finish PAP training with plenty of time to integrate it and recover from it.
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