While the P90X exercise program is an incredibly effective home workout system, it does require a significant time commitment when compared to other exercise routines. So what if you’re incredibly busy but still want to use P90X to get fit?
In this article, we’ll go over several ways to make time for your P90X exercise program workouts. Hopefully these tips will prove to be helpful as you’re juggling P90X and other time-consuming commitments.
First of all, it’s important to eliminate all excuses. Before you even begin P90X, make a decision to fit your daily workouts in — no matter what. Removing the option of procrastination is half the battle.
Secondly, cut back on TV time. Statistics show that most adults spend between 4 and 5 hours a day in front of the television. Watching TV can be a good way to wind down after a hectic day, but watching it for hours on end is extremely unproductive.
Last but not least, become a morning person! Studies have shown that people who exercise first thing in the morning are more likely to stick to their workout programs. Getting P90X out of the way early every day will prevent unexpected daily occurrences from taking priority over your workouts.
Hopefully these time management tips will come in handy when it comes to finding time for the P90X exercise program. Keep pushing play!
25 Responses
Valerie
September 16th, 2009 at 8:50 am
1Consistently finding time to fit my workouts in is one thing I’ve always struggled with. I like your suggestion of becoming a morning person (although easier said than done, right?
). I’m going to try doing my workouts first thing in the morning, we’ll see how it goes!
Thanks for the tips…
Pierre
September 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
2I totally agree that working out in the morning is the best. Several reasons why.
- It’s great to have it done in the morning. In the evening you tend to be tired and it’s easy to find an excuse.
- If you go up early you need to go to bed early and that means that you sleep during the best hours of the night.
- Working out in the morning boosts my confidence, I’m working out when others sleep.
Workout in the morning. When you get the hang of it you will love it.
AtomicFireball
September 17th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
3I found that working out with someone helps tremendously! My husband and I are on our 1st phase 4th week of P90X and we love it!
polly
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
4my husband and I are doing P90X and are in our 5th week, phase II – he has lost weight and is looking great. On the other hand, I have gained weight (which everyone says is muscle – but tell me why have I busted out of the clothes I was wearing when I started? I had to buy new because literally, I can’t even button them?) and my abdomen is bloated and I have an overall sense of bloating. I feel great because the workouts and diet are great – but I am just puzzled at my results. I am not extremely overweight – only 25-30lbs and I am eating according to the diet plan. No sodas, no alcohol, no cream/sugar in my coffee!! What does a girl gotta do to lose some weight!?!
Brian
October 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
5I am really looking into buying this. Ive seen some of the workouts on youtube and they look very effective. ill give it a shot.
joe
December 28th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
6If you are concidering buying this then just do it……works better then anything on the market. i am about to finish day 75(woohoo) and i am in better shape then i hoped to be in at day 90. 15 more days!!!!
taiga
December 29th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
7Polly, I think the P90X Nutrition guide overestimates how many calories are burned with each workout. I doubt any of the workouts burn close to 600 calories, aside from the plyo workout, so if you’ve been adding an allowance for an extra 600 calories to your diet (as the nutrition guide tells you to do), that might account for your extra weight gain.
I’m currently on week 9 of the program and I’ve seen good results. I was about 153 lbs and wearing size 10/12 when I started and now I’m about 145 lbs (despite gaining muscle mass) and I can wear size 8/10.
However, I chose not to follow the P90X Nutrition program. It seemed too resistrictive and difficult to follow, and to me, it seemed like there was too much protein in the diet and not enough fruits and vegetables.
Angie
January 25th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
8I am finishing up week three and I am seeing some results. As far as the weight gain, I initially gained a few pounds and am staying there, or have lost a pound of it I think. Initially I have lost 170 lbs over the last few years so at the moment I am 137 lbs-was 135 when I started. i mainly have loose skin to tighten and muscles to develop. I am hoping to lose the ab fat and saggy belly…we shall see. The earlier posts are right. I doubt that 600 calories are burned in most of these workouts. I usually just eat if I am hungry but I keep each eating time around 200-300 calories. Whey protein shakes help with the energy and off-set the carbs I have been craving. I am guessing that I am losing weight at the same time building muscle so that would explain the hold on actual weight loss from the scales. My clothes are fitting better too so that is a plus. Just keep it up as I will too.
Christine
January 31st, 2010 at 3:03 am
9Hi everyone! Glad to hear about the great results! I’m a soon to be 43 year old single mom. I’ve been athletic all my life and have muscle, but I’ve never been ‘cut’ – something I’ve always wanted to be. I have been watching the infomercials about the p90x over and over and want to do it, but a couple of things are holding me back. While I love to lift and walk/run or do the eliptical, I’ve never been a fan of yoga or kick boxing or things like that. Is it hard to do and for those of you who weren’t into that kind of workout either, did you eventually come to like it? Secondly, how much home equipment do you need? I can get the pull up bar (but prefer the gravitron that is at the gym!), but I went and priced the free weights at our local sporting goods store and OUCH! Expensive! Aside from buying the program, how much more equipment do you need to invest in? Congrats to all — motivate me to get this already!!! LOL!
Chris
February 9th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
10I think everyone should read this article. Seriously, cut out all excuses!
Danae
February 9th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
11I really enjoyed this blog because it is SO true. I just started P90X and I have found it incredibly difficult to find the time to workout on top of being a full-time student with an internship. Cutting back on TV time is something I really learned. It’s a little tough considering my internship involves me to watch TV, but I try to minimize it to just that and catch up on TV online when I have the free time to do it. Becoming a morning person is something I haven’t quite learned yet but I definitely need to start doing that because I find myself having to do the workouts around 10 or 11 at night! Thanks for the advice!
Candice Burgess
February 11th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
12I bought p90x about a year ago and have done it off and on over the year. My problem is I work a physically hard job cleaning houses (2 a day). So when I get home I am beat. Plus I find when I do stick to p90x for an extended period of time I stay exhausted and sore so it makes it very difficult to do my everyday job. Any suggestions?
Will
February 16th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
13My partner and I started this, and on my side, it’s kicking my butt. I love that its really challenging… and the best part is that you can actually feel everything getting worked. Even though i have a hard time with some of the work outs, I still hang in there, even if i have to pause and take a breather, i get it done no matter what. so. i like it. When I’m done, it leaves me feeling really confident, with a sense of accomplishment for the day. i love it
Natalie NC
February 24th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
14I am on Day 2 of p90x and so far it is great. I am doing it with a neighbor and we are getting ready for bathing suit season. We both have 2 yr old children, and need to lose the baby weight. Not much weight, but we need to tone up the jigglies…..
This workout should definately work, and we will be ready in 13 weeks. Just in time for spring.
Christine
March 1st, 2010 at 1:36 pm
15Those that say the nutrition program was difficult, really never took the time to look into it. My b/f and I are in week 5 of the program and have been following the nutrition program to a T since day one. We have quit smoking and quit drinking! When we first looked at the nutritional program, it was very overwhelming at first. I hated all the example meals they provided in the book and felt really discouraged. But then, I just looked at what the meal guidelines were and went from there.
For example, we are in phase 2 where we take in nor more then 2400 calories daily with each meal being no more then 600 calories with 12 gr of fat. It should consist of 6 proteins, 2 dairies, one fruit, 3 veggies, 1 fat, 3 cards, 1.5 condiments and your single and double snack.
The easiest way to do the nutrition is to creat meals you like and stay within the guidelines. Just make them under 600 calories and under 12 g of fat. create a daily chart where you write down what you eat to ensure you do not go OVER any of the allowances.
For example, todays meals/snacks for us are as follows:
Breakfast: 1 whole wheat english muffin w/turkey sausage, 1 slice fat free cheese and 1/2 cup plain cheerios.
Snack: 6oz cup fat free yogurt
Lunch: Turkey meat and lettuce on whole wheat bread, 1 serving carrots, 1 Sargento reduced fat cheese stick
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Lean Pork Chops in crock pot w/sauce (has soy, brown sugar, garlic…) grilled asparagus and brown rice
Get creative, search websites for low fat/low calorie meals. IT CAN BE DONE.
The first week is the hardest. It’s is VERY hard to go without common ever day foods (burgers, pizza, hotdogs, chips…)
Commit to this program and it will work. At the end of week 4 I have lost 10lbs and my bf about 14lbs.
envirogirl
March 6th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
16For those I you that are not so stoked about following the nutritional guide that comes with P90X, I’m with you. HOWEVER, I agree with Christine that you need to follow the guidelines about the content of your foods, not necessarily the actual foods they suggest. I’m a vegetarian and therefore have to work harder to get my protein; i drink whey protein drinks and eat protein bars for my snacks, nuts, beans, etc. And for Polly, I’m not sure if she said her age or not, but age is a factor whenever you’re talking about metabolism and how many calories you’ll burn a day. You know your body better than anyone else and you probably have a great idea of what you need to eat daily in order to maintain and/or lose. You also should really be watching your heart rate monitors! If you’re not achieving your target heart rates and staying there for the right amount of time, you’ll have a much more difficult time burning the calories. I have 8-10 lbs I wish to lose and I KNOW that I cannot have as many calories as it says I should. Remember that for every 3500 calories you burn over what you eat, you lose approximately one pound but that also goes in the reverse, intake 3500 calories more than you burn, well you know the drill….good luck everyone! Btw, my daughter and I are on day 8, I LOVE it
I’m planning on doing doubles for phase II and the time constraints are really all about priority…how badly do you want it?
Reannan
March 30th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
17I am starting my work-out this coming Sunday. I am a strict vegan and a little worried about having enough carbs/calories. Are there any other P90X vegans out there? What “diet” are you using?
rob
March 31st, 2010 at 2:32 pm
18I’ve been a strict vegan for 6 years now. I’ve been a rock climber, soccer player, cyclist and all around active person while being vegan. I’ve never had problems with lack of protein, calories, etc. I’m now on the 4th week of p90x and the only thing I’ve changed about my diet is adding a soy protein drink after I do the p90x workout.
Often I’ll have soccer practice/game or a climbing session the same day as a p90x workout, and I’m definitely feeling hungry more often, but i don’t feel like I’m missing calories or protein. If you feel hungry, eat, it’s pretty simple. Just make sure you are getting your b12 and I would recommend a multi (which you should be taking anyways). Interesting that I just stumbled on this blog and saw your comment. Good luck with it!
crystal
April 6th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
19P90x has done wonders for me. i started at 145 lbs and now weigh 130 lbs. i have stayed here for about 2 weeks though. i did do my own diet plan because i have four children and a husband to feed. i try to limit my calories to 1200-1400 a day. i do eat a lot of fruit. i now have muscles that i have never had. i went from a size 11 to a size 6. i am in phase 2 the end of the first week. i did have to take a break for 1 week do to remodeling the house and no time. if you can have a spouse or friend work out with you it will keep you more motivated. stay bringing it and you will see the results!! oh the equipment wont cost more than about $40. i bought a pull up bar $20 i had some 5lb and 15lb weights and i had bands but thats all you will need. if you don’t have any weights and you are a female a recommend 10lb weights. eat healthy guys!!!
Dave
April 9th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
20I am 65 years old and about 30 lbs over weight. My knees are sore when walking, however, I play ice hockey in the winter and rollerblade in the summer (4-5 days/wk). I am on a low-carb/sugar/salt/fat diet (lost 45 lbs so far). Are there any of you that are 65 and older participating in this? Am I just kidding myself???
Emily
May 31st, 2010 at 4:54 pm
21I am starting my work-out this coming Sunday. I am a strict vegan and a little worried about having enough carbs/calories. Are there any other P90X vegans out there? What “diet” are you using?
P90X
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 pm
22I am starting my work-out this coming Sunday. I am a strict vegan and a little worried about having enough carbs/calories. Are there any other P90X vegans out there? What “diet” are you using?
Trisha
June 24th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
23I know there are a ton of posts about finding time (which =’s lazy if I complain about it), but I already get up at 5 am to be in work by 6. I get done at 4, but I have 2 young children (4 and 10 weeks) to care for until my husband gets home about 9. Not to mention, work @ home to complete for the next day.
I really want to do this, but NEED to fit it in…any suggestions???? I am on maternity leave now, so I will be able to fit the first 45 days in just fine. However, I don’t want to start something that I can’t finish!
Brandi
July 5th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
24Trisha, if you have 45 days free to do it, then do it. I’ll bet the rest of the days somehow take care of themselves once you are into it.
David
August 10th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
25P90X works … Its that simple. If ya want to change your life totally commit to 90 days and you’ll never look back!!
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