Somebody reached the site yesterday with that exact question, “does P90X help you put on muscle?” The answer is yes. The interesting thing about P90X is that it builds muscles in places that you have probably never tried working out before. Most people don’t have a clue when they are working out. They get into this routine that they started doing back in high school and stick with it. Its what they learned and they feel like they are still getting results and keeping themselves in shape. For the most part they are but your never going to be able to build other muscles and your long term fitness will not change much. All of those muscles that you continually workout are still going to be there. As soon as you peak with a certain amount of weight you can lift or an amount of reps its time to change. A lot of people will stick with the same routine and never change it up. This causes the plateau effect. If anything the strength that you are building goes down.
Will P90X Work Through Muscle Memory?
This is kind of off topic but a good example would be your golf swing. I was watching the golf channel and they were interviewing some pros caddie and he asked the pro golfer if he worked out at all over the winter. The pro replied with no. He then asked the pro that he must at least take his clubs out to fine tune the swing. He replied with no again. The caddie said there is no way that this guy can go 3 months without swinging a club, he must be crazy. So what the caddie did was put a banana in his golf bag and personally put his pros clubs away for him. Three months later he went over to the pros house for their first tournament and went to the closet to get the clubs. When he opened it up he said it was the worst smell he had ever came across. Turns out that the pro did not take his clubs out of the bag at all and didn’t even workout once. They grabbed the clubs, ditched the banana and he went on to shoot 3 under par that day. The reason is that he has made so many swings over the years that his muscles remember that motion and they will just wake up when asked to do something. This happens with all of us. When you peak out with a weight or rep its time to switch it up.
How Will P90X Put On Muscle?
What P90X does is it teaches you what Tony Horton likes to call “muscle confusion.” When you get all 12 of the P90X dvds each one of them is a different workout that is going to challenge you. Your muscles are always guessing because the way P90X works is that you do 5 different workouts a week and after 3 weeks you enter in 3 new workout DVDs. You just continue doing this process. This will let you build some serious muscle because it never gives your muscles a time to plateau. The strength is going to be there even if it feels like you are getting weaker.
I have been doing P90X for about 6 months now and during the first 4 months I stuck to the workout plan to a T. After that I still did the workouts but in a new way. Its kind of cool now that I can take 3 weeks off from doing any pull ups and still be able to do the same or more (depending on how I feel that day) pull ups next time I do it. The reason is because i worked so hard to get to that point and when I started peaking at the end of 90 days I switched it up and started doing different non P90X workouts like swimming. I was still pushing myself and building muscle. All I have to do now is one of those P90X workouts every other week or so to maintain the muscle I had worked so hard to get while in the mean time I work on new fitness goals.
What Kind Of Muscle Will You Put On With P90X?
The kind of muscle you are going to put on with P90X will be the lean and strong kind. The majority of P90X workouts will work your muscles to their failure point while using your body weight for resistance. This cuts down on the fat and you get a “pound for pound” strength to your body which is ideal for most adults nowadays anyways. However, even if your goal is to bulk up, Tony Horton shows you what to do to achieve those results in each workout. Your not going to be doing bench presses 3 days a week so you look like one of those guys at the gym with a huge chest and chicken legs. Instead you will be working chest once a week with shoulders and back. Once you understand the reasoning behind this you will get it that you are trying to work on all of your muscles not just one in particular. You will get outstanding P90X results and you will not believe what kind of body you had stashed away under that skin for all of those years.
So there’s a certain dvd where he tells you the order of the dvd’s to do for muscle mass?
@ Jason
The P90X workout guide shows what workouts to do on what day over the 90 day period. During each workout Tony Horton shows you how to modify to build muscle mass.
Hello, where do you find out the steps to do p90x for just muscle mass?
@ Jason
When you are doing P90X, Tony Horton tells you what to do to build muscle. In most cases you need to use a heavier weight and do less reps.
Hi. I am 5′ 9 and 178 pounds. I started working out in October. I was 192 pounds and I now weight 178 pounds with 19% body fat. I want it to be 8 to 11% so that I have a ripped body and have quality muscle. Do you think that following the p90x program religiously for 90 days help me achieve this goal. Thanks. Omer
@ Omer
Congrats on the weight loss so far. Doing P90X will get you into the 8 to 11% body fat range in 90 days as long as you follow the workout and meal plan.
Hey, I’m 5’10, 220 lbs and 17 years old. I’m a pretty strong and athletic person for my weight. I want to know which of the programs would be best for me in terms of losing fat to possibly a 6 pack as well as keeping or increasing my strength and muscle mass. I mainly want to look good for beach season and keep my strength. I have a lot of whey protein so drinking that is not a problem but is the creatine essential?
@ Brendan
Getting a 6 pack is all about what you eat. Both Insanity and P90X will help you get there but you need to be watching what you put in your mouth. If your goal is to increase strength and muscle mass I would go with P90X because Insanity is a lot of cardio training.
Hey, im 6’4″ and 192lbs and im looking to gain muscle. Im just very scrawny and skinny except for my calves because i play basketball. My arms are seriously like toothpicks and my stomach is skinny but embarassing because i have no ab muscles at all. I just did my first p90x workout today and im just wondering how long it should take to start getting some muscle tone and if theres anything else i can do on top of it besides protein and creatine.
@ Big Lou
I started seeing muscle gain right around Day 30. My body felt like it was waking up that first month. I ended up putting on 10 pounds of muscle and had a very strong core section. I could complete P90X Ab Ripper X at the end of 90 days. If I would of ate a little better I defeinitely would of had a visible 6 pack. I use the P90X Recovery Drink and recommend it as it reduces muscle soreness in half.
Brad whats up i just started p90x and my goal is to build muscle i weigh about 185 and am 5′10 i have small love handles im in shape can run about a mile a day… my goal is not to lose weight… but to just be massive… Do you have any advise???……..
I am also taking mega men sport vitamans by gnc bout hour before work out…. and optimum pro comlex also from gnc after work out!!!!!!! ……
I love to drink and i havent drank in about a week because i want maximum results… but was wondering if drinking would be a factor??? thank you brad.. and congrats..
Nate..
@ Nathan
You and I sound a lot alike. You have about 5 pounds on me but similar height. I also like to party. I put on 10 pounds of muscle with P90X in my 90 days. I ran very little during it and was surprised with how fast and as far I could run after finishing it. Drinking makes a big difference. I didn’t have a drink for 3 weeks and dropped 2% body fat just from that while eating the same. I hate knowing that but its the truth. When doing P90X you are going to want to do less reps with more weight to get massive. Tony Horton will tell you what moves to do this on. I don’t use any of those supplements.
I’m 5’8” 292lbs and my body fat % is 26.3. My goal is to lose fat and be lean. I can’t do a pull up to save my life. Will P90X be helpful for me even thou I can’t do pull ups.
@ Jay
You will not be able to do pull ups now but you will be able to. It might take you 2 months to do one because of your current fitness level but who cares. I could only do 2 for the entire P90X Legs and Back workout when I started and ended up doing 82 at the end of 90 days. Tony Horton shows you how to modify every move so you build up your strength. You will be using a resistance band wrapped around the pull up bar while you get stronger. You can do this.
Hey I just finished week three of p90x. I am 5’10″ 137 16 years old I was already pretty lean and now I can see pretty good results in arms back and chest however my abs still look pretty much the same. I’ve finished every ab ripper video is this normal to see little results this early? I wanna get ripped!! haha
@ Tyler
If you are already seeing results then its working. Give it time. I started feeling the results at Day 30 and seeing them at Day 50. Just stick with it.
I can’t wait to do this workout this summer. As of now I am in college and the temptations of junk food and beer have kept me from starting the P90X program. However, I do lift a lot in college. I am 5’11 about 198lbs and today I put up 300lbs in bench after a workout (been trying to get that since HS). I am so anxious to start this program and shock my body! Hope to have that body i have always wanted once I am done!
@ Cody
Congrats on benching 300 pounds. P90X will help you work on muscle endurance which will let you put up more weight.
I’ve just started P90X and I’m on my second week of lean. I feel like it will be great to continue on but I’m looking for a lean sculptured (not bulky) body. Will doing the regular version increase my chances better than lean? I’m 5’8″ 138 lbs and 22% body fat but want to get back to at least 19% if not lower! What would you recommend. Thanks
@RT
Do the Classic Version of P90X. You will build more lean muscle and drop your body fat % faster as muscle burns fat. I don’t like how its called the Lean Version as it should be more of a Recovery Version. Tony Horton shows you how to build lean muscle in the Classic Version so do what he says.
Hello My name is Tom DiGregorio and I am 34 years old and a little confused. I am unsure whether to try P90X or Insanity. I am 6ft 2in tall and I have a gut, a sunken chest, and no muscle to show for it. oh did I mention that I’m 220 pounds. I want to be lean and have defined muscle do I start Insanity now for 60 days then Do P90X after 60 days or what? please someone help me?
@ Tom
I’d recommend you do P90X first followed up by Insanity. You’ll build up the muscle with P90X first and then switch it up with Insanity later.
Hello, i just finished one month of insanity and decided to stop because i need to cut down on cardio because i’m too skinny. i’m trying to add muscle and look like taylor lautner from twighlight. will p90x help me gain weight in muscle and more mass? i’m 5’5 and weigh around 132. i used to weigh 160
@ Jason
I felt like I was losing some muscle mass with Insanity too. That is when I decided to do a P90X / Insanity hybrid workout. It worked out very good and recommend you do it to. Congrats on the weight loss though. Now its time to build up the muscle.
Yeah i see. Its just, there are guys who are really strong but don’t have the muscular look. i want to shoot for both because i have hated going to the beach and looking scrawny, and i would like to get a 6 and strong looking and feeling upper body
so im 19 and i want to get ripped. im on week 3 and taking whey protein, creatine, and eating pretty healthy, and drinking only water. however, it doesnt look like im getting bigger. when will i start looking muscular and getting bigger and when will i see a 6-pack? i watch the ab ripper x and Adam is completely shredded but the caucasion guy doesnt have as much definition. did adam look like that from p90x alone? because i would like to shoot for that look
@ Drew
How do you feel? Are you able to do more push ups or pull ups? You’ll start seeing results very soon if you’re doing the workout. That Adam guy is a personal trainer I believe already and a dancer if I remember correctly so he’s going to have more defined results. The white dude is just some guy who has had great success with the workout. Looks can be deceiving. If the guy can do the ab ripper x routine then he has a strong core are.
Hey, will p90x help improve speed, quickness, and jumping in addition to building lean muscle? Also, once I start a regular season for baseball, will i want to continue another round of p90x or should I do a different type of workout such as “Insanity” or something with less weights like that? Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
@ Nolan
Yes to all. P90X works your legs, flexibility, and endurance. I ran the Detroit Marathon 6 month before P90X and when I finished I put on 10 pounds of muscle and could run just as far and faster then before. Plyometrics will be your new favorite workout. I’m sure you’ll be doing baseball workouts in the season so how about P90X Plus. I’ve been doing them lately. They are 5 more workouts under an hour including the ab workout. I like them a lot. It even tells you how to mix them in with P90X.
Hi ther , i have using p90x for about 8 montsh now and i’ve lost 66 lbs so i went down from 226 to now 160 and i am starting to see the outline of the muscle but i think i’ve lost too much weight , i am 5’7 by the way and i want to try to bulk up and gain muscle mass but my question is this , i’ve been doing the same routine ( the classic ) for the pass 8 months and if i keep continue doing it i think i might be lean instead of gaining muscle mass but i am no expert so please give me advice and also what do you think about me adding supplement as in protein shake into my diet , i consumed 1 tub every once or 2 months because my main goal was to lose weight but now that i want to build bigger muscle do you think i should start taking it regulary? i just dont want to gain fat again , thanks a lot!
@ Sean
Congrats on the weight loss. You should start taking whey protein everyday if you want to gain muscle mass. I use the P90X recovery drink, whey protein, and protein bars almost every day. Its helped me put on 10 pounds of muscle and maintain it for almost a year and a half now. You should look into being a Beachbody Coach.
Alright, so I’m looking to bulk up a bit, but mostly cut out and define my muscles especially a six/eight pack. Everything I’ve tried thus far has left me short of my goals. I don’t have the money to give myself the ‘perfect’ diet, but I generally stay away from sugars and carbonated drinks. Can P90X help me reach my goals?
@ Clinton
I put on 10 pounds of muscle doing P90X and I know it works. I ate ok through it but I know that if I would have laid off the beer that a six pack would show for me. The strength was built in my abs for sure. Getting them to show comes down to what you eat or in my case drink. If you can do that then there is no reason why you can’t get a 6 or 8 pack with P90X.
Hi im 5’9 145 pounds and play basketball, im looking on gaining about 20 pounds, my goal is 165…….will doing p90x help me reach that goal? ive heard you need to “tweak” the program in order to gain weight…….also will doing these workouts help my basketball performance? such as jumping higher-quicker-more body control?
@ Jason
I put on 10 pounds of muscle with the program. I was 5’11″ 165 lbs when I started and am now around 175. What you will need to do to put on the weight is do less reps with more weight and eat more food. Tony Horton tells you this stuff in the DVDs so you’ll pick up on it.
As for playing hoops I can tell you that the legs and back workout and yoga will help a lot. The real kicker will be plyometrics. You basically jump and lunge for an hour. My legs got so strong from doing that workout so I know it will help.
If you had a choice between putting on weight or being quicker which one would it be right now? I ask because I have been doing the Insanity workout for 60 days now and I have put at least 2 inches on my vertical and my lateral movements are way faster. You don’t use any weight besides your own body to do this exercise but it is tough.
Does P90X make you more define or bulky or both, because i am trying to get bigger and not more ripped.
@ Vinh
You can get bulky or lean. When you do P90X you will be given options on what to do. When you start P90X and watch the DVDs, Tony Horton will tell you what to do to get bulky.
Just a quick question, how does this program build muscle mass? You cannot gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, because in order to gain muscle you must eat excess calories and in order to lose fat you must eat a defecit of calories.
@ Cameron
P90X comes with a nutrition plan to follow. With eating right and doing P90X you will build muscle and burn fat.