2012 SEACSM Annual Meeting

Last week, myself and three other faculty members (Drs. Hale, Holmes, and Kavasis) traveled with a group of four students to the American College of Sports Medicine Southeast Chapter Regional Meeting in Jacksonville, FL. The students included graduate students Katelyn Graben, Kathryn Hoseney, and Sara McGinley, and undergraduate student Rebecca Bernheim. The students each presented research in poster format that they have worked on with us over the course of the past year. This included research on the influence of physical activity on balance among youth athletes, difference in landing kinetics between healthy participants and those with chronic ankle instability, and the difference in landing kinetics between different football positions. The students were also able to attend other presentations based on the latest research in kinesiology and sports medicine. The students did a wonderful job with their presentations and representing Mississippi State University. This was our second year to take students to this conference and have them make professional presentations, and hopefully we will be able to continue this every year. Special thanks to the department of kinesiology, College of Education, and Office of Research and Economic Development for helping fund the trip.

Becca in front of her poster. Unfortunately this is the only poster we took a picture of with the student presenter in front of it.

This yacht belongs to the new owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and was parked right outside the conference hotel.

P90X2

So, after completing about 4-5 rounds of P90X, I decided that it was time for a new challenge. I looked at Insanity but it is too much cardio and not enough resistance training. Then, the release of P90X2 came right before the end of the year, so Amy purchased it for me for my birthday. I really enjoyed P90X and have blogged previously about the pros and cons of that program. So, on January 1st, I began P90X2. There are some similarities between the 2 programs, but P90X2 is different and more challenging than the original. The biggest difference is that the workouts focus on stability and balance. Many of the exercises are performed on a stability ball and the push-ups are performed with your hands on medicine balls. There are also exercises that require you to stand on one leg while performing them. I will outline what I perceive to be the pros and cons below.

Pros
1. The workouts are very different from the original P90X. There was nothing wrong with the original workouts, but when you have been rotating the same 12 workouts for almost 2 years, you tend to get a little bored.
2. The workouts focus on stability and balance. Without engaging the postural muscles (many refer to these as the core muscles) around the abdomen, pelvis, and back, most of the exercises are impossible to perform. Also, the pushups on the medicine balls requires the recruitment of many stabilizer muscles of the shoulder, trunk, and pelvis that are not required when performing standard pushups. This focus on stability and balance will not only help athletic performance but in the performance of everyday tasks.
3. The program is broken into 3 different phases. The 1st phase focuses on total body stability and creating a strong base. The second phase, which I am currently in, is more similar to the original P90X in that it includes 3 strength training days with plyometrics and yoga mixed in, but is more difficult because of the added stability requirements of many of the exercises. The third phase focuses on increasing athletic performance. I will have to write about that once I finish.
4. You only workout 5 days a week instead of the 6 days a week with the original program. Since the workouts are more difficult, more rest days are given, which is a good thing. It is tough to workout 6 days a week. Also, the yoga in P90X2 is 30 minutes shorter and much more enjoyable than the yoga in P90X.
5. The workouts are easily modified, so people with different fitness backgrounds, levels of training, etc., can all complete the routines. Now, this isn't a workout program a person should attempt unless they are in good shape. But, you don't have to be a world class athlete to workout using P90X2.

Cons
1. I like Tony Horton, but he continues to you incorrect terminology which drives me crazy. For example, he likes to say "flex" a muscle, when this is impossible. You can flex a joint, such as the elbow, knee, hip, shoulder, etc., but you cannot flex a muscle. I know what he is trying to say is for people to activate a muscle or muscle group, but the word "flex" is often misused in the exercise community. Muscles do not flex or extend, the either shorten (contract), lengthen, or stay the same length under tension. I fight this idea with my students all the time because they are used to hearing this incorrect terminology.
2. In the second phase, the base/back and chest/back/balance workouts are only separated by one day. That means you are doing around 100 pullups two out of three days, which is a lot of stress on the shoulder and the posterior muscles of the upper extremity. I am extremely sore after completing those two workouts on Monday and Wednesday.

All in all, I am enjoying P90X2 and the challenges associated with it. I will have to blog again after finishing the program.