CAN P90X REALLY HELP PREVENT INJURY…?

The Day I Skipped YogaX

After almost 16 months of not having even the slightest injury/muscle tweak due to weight lifting it finally happened – I pulled my back giving my kids a bath while on vacation two weeks ago and I’m still not completely recovered.

It happened on the day I was supposed to do Yoga.

I woke up that morning and thought to myself…”eeh, I’m on vacation…I’ll just skip Yoga today”…and so began my fall from grace.

That morning I wasn’t even awake for more than 10 minutes before I noticed a slight discomfort in my lower back.  But, instead of doing YogaX, I just stretched it out a bit and foam rolled the area.

Well, I found myself doing that all day – unconsciously stretching my lower back.  And right as the day was ending, when the lower back discomfort was pretty much completely out of mind, I bent over to wash my boy’s feet and found myself stuck in that bent-over position – I literally could not stand back up.  It took every ounce of strength and about 10 minutes to finally get myself up right…and my right-side lower back hasn’t been the same since.

Did Skipping Yoga Really Cause The Injury?

Well, I really do not think skipping Yoga caused my back to go out BUT I really do think skipping Yoga didn’t help prevent my back from going out.  I mean if I would have done the YogaX as scheduled that day I would have spent about an hour doing exercises and stretches which are meant to align the body and help “work out” any “kinks”…like that lower back “kink” I had that fateful morning.

The Thing About Pulling Your Lower Back

It may not seem like that big of a deal, I mean everyone pulls their lower back from time to time…but anyone who regularly works out knows that a lower back tweak can easily put you out of the game for a week or two…or more.

You see, your lower back is crucial to EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT MOVE!  So if it is out of the game so are you!

Lower back kinks are so annoying because you feel okay everywhere else so you feel like you could workout.  But, anyone who has experienced lower back “kinks,” knows that the slightest move could cause the “kink” to become a major injury.

And, because your LOWER BACK IS USED ABOUT 100% OF THE TIME WHEN WORKING OUT, A LOWER BACK “KINK” MUST NEVER GO UNATTENDED!

If I Had Only Followed Tony’s Plan And Not Skipped Yoga

I am not 100% sure if I would have actually done Yoga that morning that the “kink” in my back would have been “worked out” before it became the injury that has lingered for over 2 weeks.

But I am 100% sure that over the last 15 months that I have been following Tony Horton’s programs, P90X + P90X2, without skipping a day and I NEVER HAD A DEBILITATING INJURY.

I had stuck to the plan about 98% of the time, skipping days and making them up on other days only when I was sick or taking a week off, but never had I skipped a day on a whim.  Well, that changed 2 weeks ago when I skipped Yoga on a whim (even though I felt a slight “kink” in my lower back…a “kink” Yoga would have probably worked out) And by the end of the day had pulled my back out by merely bending over.

The Importance of Following The Programs

P90X and P90X2 have everything you need to achieve your goals and transform your body but you MUST NOT SKIP PARTS OF THE PROGRAM.  The P90X and P90X2 programs have years of science and experience behind them and are designed in way to maximize results – and this includes minimizing injury’s so you’ll be able to keep coming back day in and day out.

I followed the P90X and P90X2 Programs to a “T” for over 15 months and never had the slightest “kink” in any muscle that took me out of the game.  You see, Tony Horton has created a program that puts as much importance in recovery as muscle gain or weight loss – AND THAT IS WHY YOU CAN’T SKIP A SINGLE PART OF THE PROGRAM…ESPECIALLY YOGA!

Tony’s Plans – Maximizing Results and Minimizing Injury

P90X and P90X2 incorporate warm ups and cool- downs into every workout along with Yoga and Active “Rest Days because they all contribute to the programs’ main purposes;

1. Maximizing Results

2. Minimizing Injuries

Tony Horton’s programs stack Active Workout Days with Active Recovery Days because it works.  As mentioned numerous times already in this post, I followed the program as directed (doing Workout and Recovery Days as prescribed) for over 15 months and NEVER MISSED A DAY DUE TO MUSCLE ACHES/INJURIES.  That streak was broken 2 weeks ago when I skipped Yoga and found myself stuck in a bent over position wishing I would have just done a few downward dogs that morning.

Conclusion

1. Do your Yoga people!

2. And YES, the P90X programs are designed to help prevent injury and can therefore do the trick – BUT YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE PROGRAM!