Understanding P90x’s Muscle Confusion

Since its commercial release in 2004, the P90x is said to have been used by 1.5 to 2 million people.  Users and critics alike both raved on the significant results that the P90x can give within 90 days, whether it is about losing weight or building muscles.  How did the P90x become a success? It’s in the simple principle, the muscle confusion principle. 

How do you confuse your muscles? 

Consider your first trip to the gym or the first time you performed an exercise regimen, your body’s initial reaction would be soreness. Your body would eventually recover and then you proceed to your next gym session.  As your workout in the gym gets regular, you would notice that your body would rarely get sore.  

What does it show? You body and your muscles have learned to adapt to the movements,  reducing the effects of the workout in certain body areas. Contrary to what we may think, the body is fast in adapting to different movement.  To start burning calories again, you would need to change your exercise program. 

The muscle confusion principle “confuses” the body, making it hard for the body to adapt to the movements.  The P90x uses 12 different workouts, each working on different muscle groups.  Your body will keep on learning new exercises.  Normally, it would take about 30 days for the body to adapt to a routine.  With P90x, you will be working out on a routine for a month, then you will be doing variations of these workout for the remaining days. 

Aside from doing different exercises, you will also be changing the intensity of your workout. Changing the intensity would depend on your physical ability.  Beginners could intensify the routine on their own pace, while professionals and athletes prefer doing workouts with serious intensity.  You would see yourself doing serious moves in plyometrics, yoga, and kenpo. 

In addition to changing exercises and intensity, using different kind of equipment could also encourage muscle growth through muscle confusion.  If you are working out with resistance bands, then you could change into dumbbells.  You could also reduce the amount of rest between exercises. With P90x,  it is usually a 30-second or a minute of rest before proceeding to the next exercise. 

Muscle confusion does not only help your body get ripped and burning more calories, it would also help in lowering the risks of overuse injuries because of working out in one angle or position only.  Also, one reason why people fail to continue or finish an exercise program is that they get bored with it.  By changing routines, you avoid boredom and achieve your goal. 

Muscle confusion is not only for bodybuilders who seek to develop muscle size. This principle could actually be applied in different workouts.  The Power 90, another Benchbody product, also uses muscle confusion to achieve weight loss. The P90x takes muscle confusion into another level which would definitely deliver results in a shorter period of time. 

You do not have to be confused about it, you need to confuse your muscles.  What could be a greater way than using the P90x to achieve that significant change. 
