P90X: exercises to watch out for, safety-wise?

[WWWendy]

I'm going to be starting a P90X rotation next Sunday, and I've been slowly previewing the strength workouts.

This question is for P90X veterans...are there are potentially unsafe exercises I should watch out for and potentially substitute with something different? I would rather be safe than sorry, and I know that these workouts have a lot of exercises I've never heard of before.

I noticed one workout has upright rows. They have never bothered me in the past, but I usually do them with a much smaller range of motion or substitute another exercise.

Any other substitutions or modifications that you P90X veterans have made out of concern for injury potential that I should know about? I am injury free right now, but have a history of PF (I've been pain free for over 2 years), mild elbow tendinitis when I do a lot of weight training (esp. Slim Series), and a bum knee that is fine to run on, but hurts on step workouts and on certain standing leg exercises such as forward lunges. I don't have any history of wrist or shoulder problems, and I do rotator cuff exercises regularly.

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

[Debbie S.]

Hi Wendy! The beauty of the P90X workouts is that you can modify or substitute where you need to.

Since these workouts are pushup intense, don't ever be afraid to substitute pushups with weighted chest exercises. My wrist tend to bother me when I do too many pushups and I will switch to dumbbell work when this happens.

The crouchen Cohen curls tend to bother some people's lower backs. You can modify this exercise by using a stability ball and doing preacher curls. I personally like using my adjustable bench at an angle and doing them this way. My back is totally supported this way.

You'll find that the leg workout is very user friendly. There are two varieties of wall squats, which is great for anyone with knee problems. All of the exercises are done at a really good rep speed. Again, this lessens the chance of an injury.

If you do Core Synergestics, the Dreya roll is tough, especially if you have iffy knees. I use my 4" full size step during this exercise. I just lay a mat over it to help with cushioning. It's amazing what 4" can do for this exercise.

If I think of more, I'll post again.

[Joanna]

Core Synergistics has a lot of ab exercises that are iffy for me. The banana roll for example involves a lot of twisting and I always worry I will wrench my back. I skip that one. There are other ways to work the core

[Jane C]

I think the back and forth between the banana and the superman - if my memory serves, name wise, created problems in my lower back that were a first for me - and took a long time to resolve. obviously you could lower the pace.

[Terri1222]

Definitely modified alot of moves in Core Synergistics. And also, as Debbie mentioned above, the crouching cohen curls. As for me, I skipped those entirely....put too much pressure on my lower back no matter how I did them.

I also had the modify the "military pushups". But I've always had a left shoulder problem in the past, so I think this was more of a personal problem than anything else.

Oh yeah, and the dive bombers....I could do them, but never did "like them" for some reason. I usually substituted a different chest exercise for them also....

Terri

[fit_fairy]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

If you do Core Synergestics, the Dreya roll is tough, especially if you have iffy knees. I use my 4" full size step during this exercise. I just lay a mat over it to help with cushioning. It's amazing what 4" can do for this exercise.

If I think of more, I'll post again.

Debbie, can you elaborate more on what you do here? Do you stand on the step and go back into the roll? Somehow I see me breaking my neck if I tried this LOL.

Catherine

[gmfreund]

I always skip the crouching cohen curls (or sub for them), and I usually substitute for the upright rows.

On the Dreya roll using the step, you use the step long-ways to sit down on (you're standing on the floor) and then to roll back. That way you don't have to go so far down! I don't have trouble with Dreya rolls, but I've tried this modification just to see how it works.

Gwynn F.

[mtnmom]

I sit on a stool or my High Step to do the Crouching Cohen Curls; placing my elbows in that same area of the knees that Tony elaborates on. It works out quite well and doesn't strain my back or feel awkward.

[Kathryn]

I usually do a 'low and wide" version of upright rows whenever a workout includes them.

Like others, I modify the crouching Cohen curl (either propped up against a stability ball that is in turn propped up against my sofa, or by just doing concentration curls).

In Yoga X, the Frog move can be really tough on the knees.

My tricky shoulder actually felt better after doing P90X for a while: I credit the dynamic stretches at the beginning of the upper body workouts.