Is P90X Recovery Week Necessary?
Many people feel like they aren’t making progress unless they’re training hard 100% of the time. Others complain that they feel weak afterwards. If you’re one of these folks, you might have asked — is P90X Recovery Week necessary?
The short answer is yes—Recovery Week is really important. Here are some crucial thoughts and advice on Recovery Week:
What is Recovery Week?
As most of you know, I have done a number of triathlons and tried all sorts of workout programs and there is one thing that they all have in common—Recovery Week. The concept is not isolated to P90X.
Let’s start with what Recovery Week is NOT. It is NOT a rest week. What Recovery Week is is a transition week between blocks of training. A block of training focuses on a particular facet of your body—maybe muscle growth or strengthening or increased endurance. You practice, adapt, master the task—and, then, you plateau. A recovery period gives your body time to heal and ultimately become stronger than it would without the healing.
During the P90X Recovery Week, you’re actually resting the areas you just got done focusing on, while you begin to focus on new areas. It is definitely not easy as there are several tough synergistic moves. But, overall it’s not quite as tough on your body as the other weeks.
Is P90X Recovery Week Necessary?
Doing an intense program like P90X puts a great deal of strain on your body. As a result, there are numerous micro tears in your muscles that you may not even be aware of. Allowing your body to recover during Recovery Week will enable you to see the best possible results.
Now, there are always exceptions and you might fall into the group of people who are able to go on for 3, 4 or even 5 weeks without needing a recovery week. For these people, I recommend a P90X2 schedule as opposed to the more generalized P90x program.
Why Does Recovery Week Make Me Feel Weak?
Because most people think Recovery Week is about rest, they often choose not to follow through with it as faithfully as they should. They skip workouts and miss yoga sessions. Understandable. But, because the workouts have shifted, and they have allowed themselves to have all that down time, they come back into the program after the third week feeling weak. They just don’t have the same level of mastery.
Here is the good news—the more committed you stay, the better results you’ll get, and the less weak you’ll feel. As you move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, you will feel stronger and better.
In this video, I discuss more about the theory behind recovery and why you may feel like you are weaker when you shift phases in P90X:
Is P90X Recovery Week necessary? Hopefully, you see how necessary it is. There is no denying it—the workouts are really hard. But, no pain, no gain, right? Just remember that Recovery Week is not about 100% rest, but it’s super important to follow through on!
Want some FREE P90X coaching? Monica and I are both P90X Certified and are standing by ready to help you nail this program.
