P90X vs. Crossfit

NotSoDoomedRunner

NotSoDoomedRunner

Barefooters
Apr 27, 2011
668
68
28
#1
Okay, so after my ultra, I am looking to start gaining some of the 30 pounds of fat I have lost with muscle. I don't want to go to a gym and over the next year when my bosses come back to town won't have time to... I'd like something I can plug in to our workout room in the office like a dvd and go. That is what drew me to P90X. But I wonder if Crossfit has a similar product.

Any thoughts?
 
#2
I would say that P90X, for as

I would say that P90X, for as good a home dvd program it is, can only go so far. The dvd's only have so much footage on them and while that program's footage and mash up of training styles is great you'll just wind up reaching the end and either doing it all over again or needing something else. When it comes to crossfit, and I don't do crossfit so this is an honest fitness professional opinion, it is ever growing and changing. There is always a new program, routine, workout, etc being put on the website. There are always new challenges and directions for you to go with it so I could see adopting a crossfit home program would probably keep your interest more on the long term than P90X will.

With that said. Neither of them is really designed to put on muscle weight to the tune of 30lbs. I'm assuming you are wanting the size and not just the weight. 30lbs of muscle is not going to make you as big as 30lbs of fat did so it depends on what you want your body to do. Both programs are built around a lot of aerobic and anaerobic activity so the idea is not to do these workouts and bulk up but reather build lean strong muscles that have endurance.
 
#3
If your looking for a good

If your looking for a good 1-2 time get some muscle back on ya deal, P90X. Crossfit is something thats best done in a group setting it seems. However, if you have the self-motivation and whatnot you could conceivably do crossfit at home effectively.
 
#4
if crossfit posts WODs on the

if crossfit posts WODs on the website, and i dont know why they would from a business standpoint, do that. you'll get A LOT more variety and it will be free. I crossfit, but in a gym, and my gym follows corporate to the letter, so i know the workouts are all over the place. if it costs money to see the WODs on the coporate site see if any of the affiliate gyms posts the WODs on their website - then you can just get them from there. Crossfit Firebase in Orlando is one of the best gyms in the country, if they post theirs thats who i would follow.



My cousin is a pro-fighter and all he said to do was do the workouts, when they start feeling easy buy a weight vest and start doing them with 10, 20, 30, 40lbs of extra weight and youll be in the best shape of your life. sounds simple enough.
 
#5
NotSoDoomedRunner wrote:...I

NotSoDoomedRunner said:
...I am looking to start gaining some of the 30 pounds of fat I have lost with muscle.
Click to expand...

:shock:

Why would you want to do that?
 
#6
Barefoot TJ

Barefoot TJ said:
NotSoDoomedRunner said:
...I am looking to start gaining some of the 30 pounds of fat I have lost with muscle.
Click to expand...

:shock:

Why would you want to do that?
Click to expand...



Okay. I'll just be honest. I look better with my shirt off that way. I know I'm married but I like to look good for the wife...



I guess to be more clear on goals, I am not looking for the size but the muscle weight. I gain muscle SUPER FAST. Or at least I always have. If I up protein and do any sort of workout I gain muscle. I tend to get the shorter rounder bulky muscles if that makes sense and I want more of the long lean muscles. Maybe 20 pounds is a better goal. 30 might be a bit much to carry. I wanted the fat gone because it is useless and it looks bad. Muscle at least has a use.



I may look into if there are any decent crossfit dvds that I could use at the office. The only other thing is I read about Crossfit in last weeks Runner's World. Because of my knees I'm not sure how well I could do the squats and jumps.
 
#7
Quit trying to get around it

Quit trying to get around it and go to the gym and do heavy compound lifts and eat a lot. Well I guess if you just want muscle mass train like a bodybuilder (higher reps and isolation work), if you want strength train like a power lifter (lower reps big lifts).

Those programs will work for a little while, but only to a point. It's kind of like training for an ultra without doing a long run...

Normally I hate it when people try to give me this kind of advice, but it's the truth.
 
#9
From what I understand strong

From what I understand strong lean muscle you should be working the 1-5 and 20-20+ rep ranges. For big muscles usually it's 8-12 reps.
 
#11
I've done both P90x and

I've done both P90x and crossfit. Crossfit I tried at home first for a month and then a groupon deal type of thing came up for a 30 day trial so I went ahead and got it. Definitley better doing it in the gym atmosphere with all the other people around to motivate you to work harder. There were some skill moves that were tough for me due to wrist flexibility issues like the front squat, clean and jerk, etc... But overall I really enjoyed it but what I didn't enjoy was the price which was 140 dollars a month. You could buy the P90X dvds for that same price and get a solid workout in. With P90x you can set your own pace and depending on what you want can do lighter weights or heavier weights for bulk. I chose lighter weights as I was trying to lose some muscle mass and get slimmer so I could become a better runner. P90X I felt was a better partner with my running as it incorporated yoga, core days, and plyo. Here are my results after 90 days http://www.dailymile.com/groups/1364-beachbody-series-group-p90x-insanity-chalean-turbofire-etc/photos/63073

You will get a bunch of annoying messages from beach body coaches trying to get you to buy crap from them but other then that P90X is the way to go IMO.
 
#12
Abide wrote:Quit trying to

Abide said:
Quit trying to get around it and go to the gym and do heavy compound lifts and eat a lot. Well I guess if you just want muscle mass train like a bodybuilder (higher reps and isolation work), if you want strength train like a power lifter (lower reps big lifts).

Those programs will work for a little while, but only to a point. It's kind of like training for an ultra without doing a long run...

Normally I hate it when people try to give me this kind of advice, but it's the truth.
Click to expand...



Part of the problem is that busy season is coming up at work before I know it and I want to continue it there. During that time I'm here some days, well more often than not from around 5 to up to midnight or later, somtetimes sleeping here... a lot of times it is hurry up and wait. I'd like to be able to walk down the hall to our workout room and workout. Last season I got real out of shape.
 
#13
Abide wrote:And for the

Abide said:
And for the record squatting is as bad for your knees as running.

Ok my work here is done... sorry about the megaposting.
Click to expand...



Well, mine yes. Because of my past injuries when I get low to squat and come back, they crackle, pop, and hurt. I have to be real careful with them. If I even heel strike a little for instance, I end up injured within a run or 2.
 
#14
What equipment do you have at

What equipment do you have at work? Do you have stairs?

I'm not a trainer or else I would give you some tips, but if you can't squat you really can't do crossfit. It is probably the one fundamental movement that is required by the program.
 
#15
I have the P90X but used to

I have the P90X but used to have a really hard time doing much of it because of back pain due to prior injuries. I did the P90X stretching video this morning and was shocked to find I was able to do every single stretch and yoga pose on it. The problem was my flexibility has gone in the crapper thanks to not stretching statically in the last 6 months or so. Before I stopped stretching I was able to put my palms on the floor with legs locked when bent at the waist. Now I can barely put my hands on the shins just above the ankles. No wonder I can't heal, my body is too wound up. I am looking forward to starting doing the whole P90X series of videos now that I don't have the back pain like I used to.
 
#16
Abide wrote:What equipment

Abide said:
What equipment do you have at work? Do you have stairs?

I'm not a trainer or else I would give you some tips, but if you can't squat you really can't do crossfit. It is probably the one fundamental movement that is required by the program.
Click to expand...



That was one of my worries. I was wondering if I could do a modified squat? Or if I started there if over time I would build muscles around my damaged knees?



We do have stairs. We have a treadmill and a thighmaster. But the fitness room is wide enough for free movement so if you have a video you can do what you want. Some of the ladies have what appear to be 80s fitness tapes.
 
#17
For the record I am a

For the record I am a complete amatuer at lifting, so I really don't have any advice for squats. However it doesn't really matter because you don't have weight so you are limited to bodyweight stuff and air squats are pointless in my opinion.

P90X would probably be the way to go. You can always run stairs for some variety or you may want to consider investing $100 in a couple of heavier kettle bells to help keep things varied. You can keep them at your desk and bring them with you the day you are going to use them. P90X does require a pull up bar though do you have one?

Someone put together a crossfit bodyweight workout list here on this site you can look it over and see what you think. You could actually combine these with stairs and kettlebells and have a pretty solid conditioning program.

http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=50739
 
#18
The way that read, Notso, was

The way that read, Notso, was you are wanting to gain 30 pounds of fat to replace the muscle. :puzzled:
 
#19
TJ, I was probably drunk when

TJ, I was probably drunk when I wrote that.



Abide, thanks! I think I could afford a pull up bar for the office but I'm going to look at the crossfit workout too.



I actually used to like lifting a lot. I wish we had some weight equipment. I was going to bring my old weights from my parents house but there were apparently insurance problems with that at work... and my parents sold them.
 
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