Comments on: Running And P90X

By: george

george — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:36:27 +0000

I’m from florida so its a bit different. Actually in preparation for track my milage is a lot less than for cross country. So I would recommend focusing on shorter faster runs(like 3-5 mile tempo runs) and some 400 -1mile repeats. Days that you can’t go outside, doing tempo runs on a treadmill should be effective.

In college a workout we do on the treadmill is a 5 mile run where you start 1:30 min slower than your mile PR and decrease by 15seconds every mile. so lets say your mile pr is 4:30 you would continulously run:
mile 1, 6min
mile 2 5:45
Mile 3 5:30
mile 4 5:15
mile 5 5:00

if you have treadmills fast enough you can do this for a 3 mile workout as well starting 1 min slower than mile pr and working your way down in incriments of 15 seconds

****make sure he gets his easy days in – you will never get faster if you keep pounding your body to the point that you don’t recover. If he’s ever feeling too sore, a easy 3miler and some stretching will be great. And I would recommend not doing a hard workout the day of Plyometrix X or the day after becasue that is the most taxing day.

By: Chip

Chip — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:48:12 +0000

@ George and Brad
First of all, thank you both very much. I am not as knowledgeable as either of you so I appreciate the advice.

Second, @ George…You stated you ran the 60 miles a week plus P90X during the summer. My son has started training now and with living in Wisconsin running outside is just not feasible at times. He basically has November, December, January and February to build his program for the 1 and 2 mile in track and then he will have the additional 90 days over the summer to hit the 60 miles a week plus P90X for cross country.

What would you recommend him doing during this time? He is a clydesdale runner so he can handle the over training without the injuries. Any help is appreciated.

By: Brad Gibala

Brad Gibala — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:53:31 +0000

@ George

Thanks for sharing your story.

By: george

george — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:30:05 +0000

Senior year of high school, I did 60 mile weeks and p90x at the same time over the summer, and ended up running a 15:10 at the end of the season for a 5k almost a minute improvement over the year before and wrecked the mile during track season. Just make sure that you don’t do p90x during racing season because you will be too tired to race well. Also to preface, I used to do 85-90 mile weeks during the summer, so p90x actually forced me to decrease my milage by about a third.

I think the best advice is to tell your son to take his resting heart rate every morning and if it is higher than usual take the day easy. THis is the best way to avoid injury in a really intense schedule like this.

By: Brad Gibala

Brad Gibala — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:35:36 +0000

@ Chip

Running 25-30 miles a week plus P90X might be too much. I ran the Detroit Marathon 6 months before starting P90X. During P90X I might have ran 2 miles a week because I did not have the 2.5 hours a day to train with work and all. What surprised me at the end of 90 days was my mile time was 30 seconds faster. Most of P90X is cardio related while doing resistance training. Its almost an hour of non stop moving with your body weight and or dumbbells so it builds strength and endurance. Both key to being fit. I would recommend him doing the P90X Doubles Routine where he does P90X and runs only 3 days.

By: Chip

Chip — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:20:51 +0000

My son is 10th grader in High school He is going to be starting the P90X classic program. He has just completed the Cross Country season and has 5 months before the track season to improve his time. He is currently running a 17:30 5K but would like to be running in the 16:30 range starting next August.

Would you recommend him running 25 -30 miles a week in addition to the P90X classic program to help attain this goal?

Thanks

By: Brad Gibala

Brad Gibala — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:26:37 +0000

@ Jas

Ditto everything you said for me.

By: Jas

Jas — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:09:21 +0000

I’m almost 1/3 of the way through my 3rd round of p90x. Before I started P90x I did the standard free weights and circuit weights in the gym mixed in with my cardio routine of running, elliptical, or stairs. I got tired of that same boring routine without seeing the results I wanted, so I ordered P90x.
I incorporated my cardio with P90x because I didn’t want to lose the conditioning I had worked so hard on. That means I do 35+ minutes of running, stairs, or elliptical 5 days a week after I get off work. Then I go straight home and start P90x. I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my overall fitness especially when I run stairs. They used to own me now I own them!! Running hills and putting high resistance on the elliptical is not a challenge anymore. If you really want to see ultimate results using P90x, I believe it is necessary to do cardio with this program. Just do what your body feels like doing. I think a routine like mine is something you have to build up to. I was in very good shape before I started and now I’m in great shape. And honestly when I first started I dreaded Plyo and Legs and Back. I think those are the toughest of the workouts and now I just say “Bring It!”

By: Brad Gibala

Brad Gibala — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:22:57 +0000

@ Ang

Instead of adding running in right now you should do the P90X Classic routine. You will see more results going this route. Do that for 3 weeks and then see how you feel about running. If you must run then do it in the morning and P90X at night.

By: Ang

Ang — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:27:36 +0000

I want to see big results from P90x. Today is day 15, and I’m feeling really good about it, but I do want to lose weight with this, even though the program isn’t built for just weight loss. Would you suggest adding in some running? Which week should I start it? I’m doing the Lean program.