In this edition of “P90X Reviews” I want to take a closer look into the claimed reason for the success of P90X which is “Muscle Confusion”.
I want to dig deeper than most P90X Reviews to answer the following about “Muscle Confusion”:
Is it real? Is it as effective as claimed? “Muscle Confusion” VS. Routine – Which yields better results?Let’s start out by looking at the human muscular system to understand how and why your body builds strength and muscle. This will be quick and easy but should give the basis for those with little understanding.
You see the body is a complex “system” of nerves, cells, tissues, blood, water, organs, etc. The bodily “system” as a whole produces what we know as our Body and all of the bodies functions whether they are voluntary or involuntary.
You may be asking “I thought this article was about P90X Reviews?” Don’t worry it all ties together because to understand Muscle Confusion you first must understand the basics of the human body and the muscular system.
When you work your body through fitness and exertion beyond your normal daily living functions your body goes through a series of chemical reactions, hormone production, muscle fiber destruction, metabolic increase, higher blood flow, and many other reactions.
This is good, the body is organic and therefore if it is not used and challenged it will simply atrophy and degenerate.
When you stress a muscle beyond it’s normal capacity the first thing that happens is the communication between brain and muscle. After the communication happens your muscles react to the movement or weight by contracting and going tensile.
Muscle are made up of tons of little muscle fibers much like fiber optic cords all laying upon each other. When you over-load a muscle through resistance training you actually create small micro-tears in the muscle fibers themselves. So when you workout through resistance you actually destroy muscle fibers (This is why you find yourself sore after wards).
Now the body is an incredibly adaptive machine, when it gets used to something your body eventually reaches an equilibrium of whatever the action is and no longer reacts to build strength and muscle but only retains.
This is what we can call a “Plateau” when your muscular and cardiovascular system create a routine reaction to whatever the action is you take.
With this basic understanding you now know that “Muscle Confusion” is in fact the real deal.
So let’s dig deeper than most P90X Reviews and check to see if “Muscle Confusion” is as effective as it is claimed to be. The P90X workout system boasts about Muscle Confusion as the money maker in the workout program but does it work?
The P90X workout system is broken down into 3 phases in 30 day periods allowing your body to adapt and continually be challenged through breaking routine.
Earlier in this P90X Review we looked at the muscular system and how it eventually adapts to routine and prevents further growth. The P90X Workout system and it’s claimed “Muscle Confusion” sets out to break any possible equilibrium by constantly changing the focus.
During phase one you find yourself repeating weeks 1-3 doing the same routines and during this process your body is challenged, your muscles breakdown and rebuild, and towards week three you begin to plateau.
Suddenly week 4 comes along and is totally different – This is considered a “Recovery” week but still tosses incredible challenge through cardio, stretch, and balance routines. Basically the recovery week skips most resistance and allows your muscle to repair, adapt, and recover.
In weeks 5-7 which is considered Phase 2 you repeat again like weeks 1-3 except 2 workouts change entirely. You begin to challenge the same and different muscle groups through alternate moves. This begins to break down and challenge your brain/ muscle communication + your muscle fibers break down again.
When you begin to adapt towards the end of week 7 in the P90X Workout you will find yourself back in another “Recovery” week which is week 8.
Phase 3 does it once again but then alternates each week going back and forth between the workouts from weeks 1-3 and the workouts from weeks 5-7 to add even more challenge.
I am sure by now you can see how the P90X Workout and “Muscle Confusion” work together to constantly challenge muscle growth and adaptation.
Finally in this P90X Reviews I want to compare “Muscle Confusion VS. Routine”
At this point you can see the power of challenging your body and it’s complexities through changing routine and throwing new variations at your muscle fibers.
Look at it this way – If P90X was 90 days of the exact same routine week in and week out much like your routines tend to be at the gym or when you run 2 miles every single day, you would reach an equilibrium of communication and muscle fiber growth. Basically within weeks your brain would know exactly what to expect and your muscle fibers would reach a “plateau” of growth as there would no longer be challenge.
Think of it this way. Some of us need routine in our lives to feel in control but at times this can lead to constant repetition and life never changes. When you add constant change, challenge, and go beyond the norm in your day you begin to grow as a person, you’ll gain knowledge, and you gain experience.
Your muscles work much the same way as the previous example. When constantly challenged with new and exciting moves, heavier weight, different angles of use, and other variations they will continuously grow and adapt but never “plateau” through mundane acts.
In conclusion of this edition of “P90X Reviews” – Is Muscle Confusion the real deal and is it effective as the P90X Workout System claims? Well quite simply, yes.
Constant change and challenge of your muscle groups will lead to constant breakdown and rebuilding of muscle fibers which leads to greater muscle size, strength, and overall growth.
Keep in mind that during your workouts is exactly when you tear down muscle fibers – When you are NOT exercising and even more so when you sleep is exactly when your muscles repair, grow, and gain strength.
With that said, don’t work the same muscle groups each day as this will constantly break down the muscle fibers without allowing proper growth and repair. Also, get sleep because that is when your body goes into repair mode to recovery from the previous days load on the body. Get Sleep!