Is P90X dangerous?

[luvcritters]

Not sure what to think about this. I haven't done hardcore workouts in years but it's food for thought I suppose. Maybe he had a pre-existing condition that he know of?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...170839781.html

[yogapam]

Linda - Incidents like this are food for thought! I think a lot of people jump into these intense programs when they aren't used to exercise and they don't take the risks into account. They also don't listen to their bodies, "the no pain, no gain" slogan is a dangerous one. It sounds like he was getting warning signs and was ignoring them, and he possibly could have had a pre-existing condition. I can't imagine how hard he must have been pushing himself! As you know I was doing P90X and had to suspend it due to recurring PF and some low back issues. I think it's a good program, Tony does frequently encourage you to just do what you can. But it does need to be approached with caution and for that reason it's probably a not a good place to start if you are starting from square one.

[JP44]

Originally Posted by Linda H

Not sure what to think about this. I haven't done hardcore workouts in years but it's food for thought I suppose. Maybe he had a pre-existing condition that he know of?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...170839781.html

I just read this article on Yahoo and my first thought was the guy decided to cut back on water/fluids for several days since he wanted to lose weight. I can't believe Day 1 of Chest & Back did this to him w/o some other circumstances. Literally, MILLIONS people have done this workout w/o having similarly severe problems.

Joan

[bubbles76]

There has GOT to be more to this story than what was published. It was probably a build up of him not paying attention to his body when it was in pain, and P90X just happened to put him over the edge. I'm not familiar with that condition from which he suffered, and I hope he is okay.

[EnglishIvy]

Rhabdomyolysis is fairly common in Crossfit circles, high school football, military BC etc. There are folks who are genetically more vulnerable but certain conditions (dehydration, poor physical conditioning prior to intense exercise, poor nutrition, medications such as cholesterol lowering statin drugs etc) up the risk significantly. The bummer is that the after effects of one episode can last for YEARS and re-current episodes are common.

P90X isn't the problem. The no pain/no gain mentality mixed with a poorly fed and poorly conditioned population accounts for the majority of it. Extreme programs with extreme marketing fuel the machine but people are just not as attracted to lifestyle changes that give results over time and with consistent (versus quick and "extreme") results.

[kitty12]

A longer article on his own web page:
http://collegespun.com/features/how-...habdomyolysis#

Some things I notice from the article - he considers himself an athlete because of his previous school experience and the fact he plays basketball once a week. He does also mention playing soccer and softball but I am not sure that playing these sports indicates someone is really in athletic shape. He also mentions being overweight. My gut thought is that he was not in as good of shape as he thought he was. He mentions spending 16 hour days in front of the PC.

The second thing is he says he completed half of the first days workout before his muscles shut down. The next day he was really sore and didn't listen to the warning symptoms and went on to the next workout.

A quote from his own article:
"My two biggest takeaways from the entire ordeal? You can’t put your muscles through a strenuous workout without leading up to it, and you need to recognize when you’re body is telling you that there is something wrong. The first could have killed me, while the second may have saved me. "

I do hope he is OK and some good points made.

[Messe]

Originally Posted by jp44

i just read this article on yahoo and my first thought was the guy decided to cut back on water/fluids for several days since he wanted to lose weight. I can't believe day 1 of chest & back did this to him w/o some other circumstances. Literally, millions people have done this workout w/o having similarly severe problems.

Joan

+1

[pcdoctor01]

I wonder if he had been using protein shakes because of this statement?
“My blood test came back with a CPK (creatine phosphokinase) level of over 16,800 (the max they can test for),”

[Paine]

Yikes, I never even knew about rhabdomyolysis.

[Helen S]

Originally Posted by kitty12

A longer article on his own web page:
http://collegespun.com/features/how-...habdomyolysis#

Some things I notice from the article - he considers himself an athlete because of his previous school experience and the fact he plays basketball once a week. He does also mention playing soccer and softball but I am not sure that playing these sports indicates someone is really in athletic shape. He also mentions being overweight. My gut thought is that he was not in as good of shape as he thought he was. He mentions spending 16 hour days in front of the PC.

The second thing is he says he completed half of the first days workout before his muscles shut down. The next day he was really sore and didn't listen to the warning symptoms and went on to the next workout.

A quote from his own article:
"My two biggest takeaways from the entire ordeal? You can’t put your muscles through a strenuous workout without leading up to it, and you need to recognize when you’re body is telling you that there is something wrong. The first could have killed me, while the second may have saved me. "

I do hope he is OK and some good points made.

kitty12,

I had the same thoughts while I was reading the article. He was not ready for P90X. Also if he felt that badly after the first day, he shouldn't have tried to push himself on the second day.