P90X Day 5: Tight Muscles

One of the best things about P90X is that it does a good job of working different muscle groups and taking breaks for at least 48 hours for each muscle group.  There is a fine balance between cardio and weight training.  Even with all of that said, today I paid the price on a new muscle group: my thighs.

Legs are an area where a lot of guys tend to struggle because they aren’t glamor muscles in guys, but they should be done just as much and maybe more than upper body muscles.  Not only is it cosmetically the right thing to do in order to have balance in body composition, but the legs are an example of large muscle groups and by working them out, you build a higher metabolic rate which means burning more calories than smaller muscle groups like biceps or triceps.

For women it is the other way around.  They have a tendency to work lower body and core muscle groups, but not upper body like shoulders, chest, back, and arms.  There will be other exercises where a female will tend to be more sore than a male.

The legs got fairly stiff not very long after doing the workout.  There are a few things you can do in order to help with the wear and tear.  You will be feeling that stiffness a lot the first week of P90x so I would implement these things:

1. Recovery Drink: The P90X Recovery Formula is beneficial for a few reasons.  It has antioxidants and vitamins in order to help with that wear and tear of muscle fibers and to fight free radicals that cause disease risk.  It also has a high density protein component that helps with muscle recover.  It provides a simple and complex carb component to assist in sustaining energy and glycogen replenishment.

2. Rest and Sleep: I have been sleeping a lot.  Exercise has a way of doing that when you are getting into the swing of things.  This is a good thing to get as much sleep as you can to help get your body back to normal and have enough recovery

3. Stretch the following day: Keeping your body warm helps to fight against potential injury.  On top of it, by stretching it increases blood flow and brings healing nutrients to your injured area.  Make sure to take advantage of the cool down period and warming up before starting any other exercises.  This will help prevent against cramping and injury.

4: Heat/Ice Pack: I would try this out as well.  I have used both in the past and at times they have helped quite a bit.  I would make sure to use more heat to help stretching my sore muscle fibers and an ice pack to help cut down on inflammation after you are done with working out.  I also spend time in a hot tub slowly moving around.

5: Use less weight: With the daily exercises continuing it is key that you use less weight if necessary to prevent any muscle tears.  Don’t be a hero.  You have the rest of your life to build up weight and repetitions.

So make sure to get a lot of rest, provide heat, and get the P90X Recovery Formula tub or the the P90X Recovery Formula packets.

Remember you only get one body so treat it well.

What other methods work for you?