The appeal of P90X is, more than anything, the promise of transforming yourself into a dead sexy hunk of beefcake or a toned goddess within 90 days. I’d say pretty much everyone is drawn in by that idea, regardless of the sport they practice. But is P90X an effective cross-training option for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners?

I’ve seen several good posts on cross-training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and occasionally someone will search for P90X and BJJ and end up at my blog. Unfortunately, I have done very little analysis on how P90X training can benefit BJJ. I plan to attack this very subject over the next month or so as I finish out Phase III of P90X and take my last photos.

By the time the Pans had rolled around, I’d been doing P90X for almost 3 months and had just finished the second phase. Life had happened and I was stretched too thin to follow the actual 90-day schedule (P150X would be more accurate). Even so, I had reaped considerable benefits, including mental stamina, increased cardio and more strength and flexibility. I’m no sexy hunk of beefcake by any means, but my muscles had grown. And I have to admit, I was looking forward to taking my shirt off at Corona del Mar beach after the tournament.

I have just over a year’s experience, and thus haven’t been exposed to many training regimes geared toward the sport. But I have competed and I know how it feels to step out there on the mat and wish I had trained harder. That said, here’s what I have theorized thus far:

1. The constant stop-and-go nature most P90X workouts is a lot like the anaerobic workout jiu-jitsu gives you…conserve and explode. Lots of crossover application there. My Pan training camp was not all that bad after having done P90X for a month.
2. P90X is tough, especially if you push yourself. Learning to stick with it, breaking through the mental barriers that limit your physical capacity and not backing down when the going gets tough are great benefits to jiu-jitsu.
3. If you have to cut a workout, don’t cut the Yoga. Time can constrain your training options. I modded yoga out of my Phase II, and I think it would have been one of the most beneficial workouts for my jiu-jitsu possible. There’s a great post on this very topic at The Fightworks Podcast. Yoga = core strength + flexibility, and the benefits of both in BJJ are obvious. If you feel your schedule demands that you modify the P90X workout, ditch the Kenpo X. Jiu-jitsu classes gave me a much better workout than the Kenpo X did.
4. The general buildup in strength gave me more physical confidence endurance and power, although don’t feel it necessarily increased my speed, reactivity or technique in jiu-jitsu.
5. While I did experience endurance benefits, I think it falls short of what you need for competition. I admittedly made the mistake of not maintaining my cardio the week before the Pans, and I paid for it. But I was relying on P90X as my cardio training, and I wish I’d have done something more.
6. Along with the yoga, Ab-Ripper X is the best of all the workouts for BJJ. As we all know, core strength is key in jiu-jitsu and Ab-Ripper X is an excellent, concise core-building powerhouse. I’ll be using this workout even after I complete the program. It’s that good.
7. I’d treat P90X more as your supplemental weight training program with a mix of cardio, and not your primary jiu-jitsu conditioning workout, especially if you are a frequent competitor. P90X does great things for general strength, looks and athleticism. However, it’s not a sport-specific workout – meaning, it’s not geared to developing the specific motor skills and muscles that will fine-tune your jiu-jitsu. For example, there is nothing in P90X that will help you develop grip strength or good hip movement. There are probably some great workouts out there that are just as tough as P90X but can help you hone in on specific Jiu-jitsu skills. What those are I don’t know yet, but I will be looking into it.

I hereby claim the right to change my opinion. This is how I see it now, but future events may enlighten me. I’ll keep you posted weekly and let you know if I come to any further conclusions. In the mean time, I’m interested to hear your perspective on what makes a good cross-training experience with BJJ.

Oh, and here’s me after month one, journeying toward sexy beefcakiness.

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