P90X is a series of 12 different workouts all merged into one DVD to give you the ultimate training resources that are made specifically to target different aspects of the world of fitness. It’s a pretty solid foundation that you need in order to change your body. And since DVDs are outdated nowadays, you can easily find them on the internet. One of my favorites from these 12 workouts is plyometrics which is considered an intense method of training that revolves around building the explosiveness in the muscles through different jumping exercises. A question that I get asked a lot is whether P90X plyometrics can be considered HIIT.
Since P90X plyometrics is a method of training that involves going all out during a set amount of time through fast-paced bursts of plyometric exercises followed by a short period of rest, it can definitely be considered a HIIT, especially if you do the moves with enough intensity to raise your heart rate.
In this article, we’ll talk about what makes a certain workout HIIT, and compare P90X plyometrics with a typical HIIT workout.
Table of Contents
Is P90X Plyometrics HIIT?
In order to answer this question, we first need to understand what makes a specific workout a HIIT one so we can compare it with P90X plyometrics and verify if there are any similarities.
What makes a workout HIIT?
A high-intensity interval training is any workout that consists of short bursts of intense movements that lasts for about 10 to 60 seconds in which the body uses its full capacity. These movements are then followed by short recovery periods that can be active sometimes (meaning that the body is resting without stopping its movements but rather slowing them).
And depending on the type of workout, these intense activities are repeated through cycles that can range from 3 to 10. What you get as a result is a heart rate that’s up and a rapid burn of fat.
So the most important points of any HIIT workout are:
- Fast bursts of 10 to 60 seconds exercises followed by short recovery times
- Intense exercises where your body goes all in and your heart rate increases
- The cycle of movement is repeated from 3 to 10 times
What does P90X Plyometrics Consist of?
Now that we know what makes a workout HIIT, let’s move on to P90X Plyometrics and see what it’s all about.
It’s a unique method of training that revolves around the lower body specifically and that consists of 5 groups of exercises (6 if you count the bonus one). And just like any other type of workout, you always start with a warm-up to prepare your body for the intensity that’s about to come.
For each of those five groups, there are 4 exercises that you need to do in order. As soon as you’re done with them, you then repeat them one more time in order again. In other words, for each group, you repeat the exercises two times.
After you’re done with a group, you can rest for a short limited amount of time before moving on to the next one. And the majority of the exercises of these 5 five groups are pretty intense, especially as you start to move on to the last groups.
And just like I did in the first section, let’s gather all the important points of P90X Plyometrics:
- It consists of a lot of short reps that are 30 seconds long
- Recovery times are super short
- The exercises of each group are really intense
Can P90X Be Considered as a HIIT?
Now that we know the main points that make workout HIIT and we know the different characteristics of the P90X Plyometrics, we can easily compare them to verify once and for all if they can be considered a HIIT.
But I’m sure as you were reading the aspects of P90X Plyometrics, it’s got pretty obvious for you.
It’s a type of workout that consists of a lot of short reps that are 30 seconds long and as I explained in the beginning, HIIT is a combination of fast bursts of exercises that are 10 to 60 seconds long. P90X Plyometrics sits pretty nicely in this range.
All the exercises from this training technique are followed by short recovery times which is quite literally the definition of HIIT.
In addition to that, all of them are intense as well just like in HIIT which can raise your heart rate and help significantly in reducing fat.
This makes P90X Plyometrics one of the best high-intensity interval training techniques out there.
Conclusion:
Not only is P90X Plyometrics one of the best training methods that offer a lot of benefits that include increased muscle tone and strength, burning fat, and improved cardiovascular health, it also has all the added benefits of being considered a high-intensity interval training.