ExamineHealth

 
You might have already read my article about P90X. I maintain that this is the best program to get you whipped into great shape in a limited amount of time. However, the problem with P90X is that it takes time. To the tune of 60 minutes or so each day. Now, this is the type of commitment that is required for those types of results; and you WILL get results, I guarantee it. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of time in my schedule on a regular basis. So after I completed the P90X program, I began to look at how I could enter some sort of 'maintenance mode' where I could keep up the gains that I've made, but open up some time in the schedule for other things I enjoy, like mountain biking, rock climbing, running, swimming, etc.

My first approach was to sprinkle in a P90X workout whenever I didn't have anything else going on. So the idea was that each evening I would do some sort of exercise - "break a sweat". That might involve a yoga class, a bike ride, or a P90X workout, maybe even the P90X yoga session! This seemed to work fairly well. I chose the particular workout mostly intuitively. Based on what I felt like my body needed, and what had been worked out recently.

Then, despite my efforts, I got busier. I found that I wasn't getting evening workouts in. Things were getting in the way; I was working late, or planning things with friends in the evening. Before I knew it, I wasn't getting regular strength training in. I was still getting at least a basic cardio workout from my exercise bike that I ride each morning, however, my muscle tone was suffering.

Then it hit me. Why not capitalize on this solid morning routine that I have already developed. I've got a very developed habit of waking up early and running through about an hour and a half of chi gung, stretching, and riding the exercise bike. Adding a few minutes of strength training in there seemed like an easy win. I can pretty much guarantee that it's going to get done (part of the reason for the success of the morning workout - make sure I get it done before anything gets in the way).

So the strategy works out in the same vein as CrossFit. The idea is that you get about 20 minutes of intense strength training in each day. This is non-stop lifting for the most part, no long rests or waiting around. I generally shoot for about two exercises, three sets each, essentially focusing on a single body part, or set of body-parts each day. This gets each muscle group a good working out, and ensures that it happens. I'm switching up the exercises as much as possible, focusing on the muscle groups themselves and using some creativity (and exercise cheat sheets) to vary the specific movements as much as possible. This will help to capitalize on the 'muscle confusion' principle from P90X and will prevent the neurologically related improvements, in favor of muscle strength improvements.

While I haven't yet, I may experiment with actually following some of the Crossfit routines. Crossfit is basically built around the concept of a "workout of the day" or WOD. They publish a new one on their site each day, and they're built to take up only about 20 minutes. At the very least, this is a good place to harvest exercise ideas for keeping your workouts varied. The only problem I've had following Crossfit workouts to the letter is lack of equipment. I've still got a relatively rudimentary gym at my house, so I am somewhat limited. This will improve as my gym slowly gets built out. Until then, understanding what they're trying to accomplish and substituting works just as well.

It's true that I'm not getting the same level of workout that P90X provides. There's not really any way that 20 minutes a day is going to give you the same results as 60 minutes a day. But it IS getting done every day, which is better than not getting it done at all. And while it's still early in this routine for me, it's definitely providing the maintenance training that I was looking for to maintain a base level of fitness.

And, I still have the evenings open for additional exercise that I enjoy! So far it's a great routine that's working really well for me, so I wanted to share it with you all. If you have any questions, or routines of your own that you've found to work, share them in the comments!