Overtraining is defined by Wikipedia as a “physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. The term is defined differently depending on where you look, however. Overtraining basically amounts to is working harder than the body can keep up with. If your body can’t recover from workouts you will eventually hurt your progress or injure yourself. Because P90X is a tough workout program, we have heard that some are concerned if P90X and overtraining go hand in hand. The short answer: no.
Overtraining is much more than working out hard. Elite athletes workout consistently day in and day out and seldom, when trained properly, do they suffer from overtraining. The intensity of your workout doesn’t always increase your chances of overtraining. P90X and overtraining is not any more common than overtraining from running, in that regard.
The key to preventing overtraining in any fitness program is listening to your body and resting when appropriate. Every good training program should have easy days or rest days built in. P90X does this with occasional days off. For some people, believe it or not, rest days are punishment. For others, they are a blessing! When the P90X calendar tells you to take a day off, do it. The days off aren’t just to give you a chance to relax—they are there to prevent overtraining and injury.
Another way in which P90X prevents overtraining is through muscle confusion. If you were a weight lifter and did heavy squats day after day, you would likely overtrain your quads. They would stop responding to the workouts and possible even decline in health. You may even injure them more easily. By switching up the routines from day to day, P90X ensures maximum progress and minimal risk of overtraining.
Overtraining is possible with nearly any workout system. However, by sticking with your P90X calendar and recognizing when your body needs a break, you will find P90X and overtraining to be an extremely rare occurrence.
Mar 06, 2010 @ 11:32:44
thats good to know. Cause I know there hard workouts.