p90x/p90x2 vs Mark Rippetoe Starting Strength vs. anything else ?? Help me choose

[jasonfodor]

5'10'' 160 lbs.
looking to build muscle mostly, and get cut.

I've done p90x twice. I read on this forum p90x was mostly to lose weight and get cut. But, I am not looking to lose weight, and with the program I didn't lose weight (so if it works, should I just stick with it?). I rarely used the "junk" dvds (poly, cardio, yoga, kenpo etc.), I mostly did the arm/chest/back/leg workouts as scheduled and the days where it called for the "junk" dvds, I called it my off days
Pros for p90x: I am happy with my results, got bigger, got more cut, and didn't lose weight, and has a lot of "whole" body works (poly, cardio, yoga, kenpo), although I rarely did these, I want to do more with p90x2.
Cons with p90x/p90x2: I am afraid if I keep doing them I will lose weight (or maybe I won't since I haven't done so so far) and also, I am afraid I will continue to get cut and more cut without gaining muscle mass. I don't want to have little muscle mass and be very cut, I think this looks bad.

I read Mark Rippetoe Starting Strength. This forum seems to like it, but it doesn't make sense. Does it even work?
Reason I ask is because it says for "Day A" you do 3 sets of 5 reps for bench. You alternate doing "Day A" 2x a week and 1x a week. So, basically one week you do (3 sets of 5 raps times 2 days) 30 reps total of bench and another you do 15 reps. With p90x I do 30 push ups (reps) just in 1 exercise, and the chest exercise has 8-11 sets just for 1 day. Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength seems like literally a 20 minutes max visit to the gym and your done. But the book on his website is 347 pages. Is there something I am missing here?? Just don't see how you can gain anything with such little work.


I want to try something new (done p90x twice already), don't really like p90x2 it seems to focus more on agility and balance and not muscle building or getting cut. Any suggestions?

[jvallstar36]

You are right p90x is more on agility and blance (sports-performance) then it was before. HOWEVER, because of the difficulty in exercises and stability you need to complete the exercises, your muscles are getting a GREAT workout. The core is destroyed in p90x2 which is your muscles you use on just about ANY exercises, making your legs much stronger and durable. HMU in a msg if you want to tlak about it.

[accuchek]

P90X garbage will get you no where if you want to add mass. Starting Strength is a great place to start weight training. I added over 100 pounds to my squat and over 200 pounds to my deadlift on the program. If you eat correctly, you will gain a lot of mass. With all the warm up sets it takes around 45 minutes to an hour to complete. I suggest reading the book and really working on your form for the first few weeks and make sure your diet is in check. Good luck

[hammerfelt]

SS takes a lot longer than 20 minutes. Especially when the weights get heavy. I was doing a similar program StrongLifts. At the end of linear progression it was taking around 2 hours to get through the workout.

Anyway, you will not get cut on SS. Go ahead and do SS, build a solid foundation of muscle and strength. Once you have exhausted linear progression you can do something 5/3/1 to cut and maintain strength.

[Engineer_Guy]

5'10'' 160 lbs.
looking to build muscle mostly, and get cut.

Completely conflicting goals. At your weight, getting cut really isn't going to look that impressive. No offense.

I read Mark Rippetoe Starting Strength. This forum seems to like it, but it doesn't make sense. Does it even work?
Reason I ask is because it says for "Day A" you do 3 sets of 5 reps for bench. You alternate doing "Day A" 2x a week and 1x a week. So, basically one week you do (3 sets of 5 raps times 2 days) 30 reps total of bench and another you do 15 reps. With p90x I do 30 push ups (reps) just in 1 exercise, and the chest exercise has 8-11 sets just for 1 day. Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength seems like literally a 20 minutes max visit to the gym and your done. But the book on his website is 347 pages. Is there something I am missing here?? Just don't see how you can gain anything with such little work.

Because doing 30 push ups is so physically taxing...

Yea you missed something. Doing a 3x5 of low bar squats alone takes more than 20 minutes once you are doing respective weight. The whole workout might take you 20 minutes if you only use the bar....

You've clearly never trained with much intensity.

[PeterGibbons316]

SS works:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...256491&page=22

[PhiDelt234]

P90x is a terrible program to use for building mass but a good program to lose weight although a better way to lose weight is to hit the weights. So overall the program just really isn't good. The muscle gains you've been seeing in the mirror sounds like the fat loss and the increase of cut which makes you look bigger or could be the placebo effect.

[jasonfodor]

so is mark rippetoe starting strength just for beginners?
i am not really a beginner. played baseball and football in high school so worked out a lot. kind of got lazy during college, go to a top10 school, premed, so not much free time. Started doing p90x twice and now i am here.

i only do p90x twice a week, just the two upper body work outs. and try to jog 20 mins every other day.

what I don't like about starting strength is that it doesn't seem convenient. I like just doing my dumbell workout. I use to squat close to 400 around my sophomore year in high school, than started getting back problems and never did a squat/power clean again. i only did the p90x leg workout twice, but that is perfect for me... low weight lunges, high reps... i just want to keep my legs tone don't care too much about having mass there or any lower workouts. pretty much a good summary: good upper body (abs included), toned legs, and cardio so i am healthy.

[midcoastking33]

so is mark rippetoe starting strength just for beginners?
i am not really a beginner. played baseball and football in high school so worked out a lot. kind of got lazy during college, go to a top10 school, premed, so not much free time. Started doing p90x twice and now i am here.

i only do p90x twice a week, just the two upper body work outs. and try to jog 20 mins every other day.

what I don't like about starting strength is that it doesn't seem convenient. I like just doing my dumbell workout. I use to squat close to 400 around my sophomore year in high school, than started getting back problems and never did a squat/power clean again. i only did the p90x leg workout twice, but that is perfect for me... low weight lunges, high reps... i just want to keep my legs tone don't care too much about having mass there or any lower workouts. pretty much a good summary: good upper body (abs included), toned legs, and cardio so i am healthy.

Tone has nothing to do with exercises and rep ranges. SS will get you a better upper and lower body than p90x will if your diet is in check

[thook44]

Tone has nothing to do with exercises and rep ranges. SS will get you a better upper and lower body than p90x will if your diet is in check

Sorry to hijack, but I just started my own thread with questions pertaining to "tone" of muscle. IOW's, density. If it has nothing to do with what you stated, then what does?

[resistanceboy]

Whats SS??

[Koogler94]

I'm 17, I literally JUST stopped starting strength(6 days ago)altogether I gained around 15lbs( clearly not all muscle my diet wasnt the best) my squat went from reppin 155 decently to repping 305. Bench started reaping 165 went all the way to 205 unassisted 210(with a bit of help on 4 or 5 rep) keep getting told damn u got bigger. I can't fit in my pants anymore bc my legs exploded! I say it's an amazing program. Not your arms aren't gonna get too much bigger so if that's what your lookin for, sorry bud

[Koogler94]

so is mark rippetoe starting strength just for beginners?
i am not really a beginner. played baseball and football in high school so worked out a lot. kind of got lazy during college, go to a top10 school, premed, so not much free time. Started doing p90x twice and now i am here.

i only do p90x twice a week, just the two upper body work outs. and try to jog 20 mins every other day.

what I don't like about starting strength is that it doesn't seem convenient. I like just doing my dumbell workout. I use to squat close to 400 around my sophomore year in high school, than started getting back problems and never did a squat/power clean again. i only did the p90x leg workout twice, but that is perfect for me... low weight lunges, high reps... i just want to keep my legs tone don't care too much about having mass there or any lower workouts. pretty much a good summary: good upper body (abs included), toned legs, and cardio so i am healthy.

Yea you def weren't truly doing close to 400 if you got back problems from it. But yea it's a novice program if u can't bench atleast 225 do it, if u can't squat 300+ get to it. Your legs will get huge if you do it, it's a great program

[B757]

I haven't done SS but from I have seen here it is a good program where you will progress, get strong, get big legs, but also get a big gut. In order to progress on SS you have to eat big and a lot of those excess calories (the ones that will give you strength to lift heavier every week) will also produce fat that will end up on your belly. PeterGibbons316 has made some amazing progress on SS in terms of lifts but he is 5'10" and sits at around 229 lbs and 25% body fat (no offense, just stating facts).

If your objective is to be leaner and bulk cleaner there are other programs. If your goal is a bigger upper body, there are better programs.

[jakesyl]

Why the hell does everyone rip on P90X and who said anything about 30, I'd be mad if I got less than 100. Plus I adjust it, I put a 20lb weight pack on add claps in, easy stuff.

[CamLeslie]

What is the deal with all the p90x bumps today?

This is like the 3rd I've read today alone...

[RockCrab]

Why the hell does everyone rip on P90X and who said anything about 30, I'd be mad if I got less than 100. Plus I adjust it, I put a 20lb weight pack on add claps in, easy stuff.

Because people continue to try to make it out to be something it's not. It is a strength endurance program. You will not build any top end strength or power doing high rep, low rest, weighted cardio. Also, 'muscle confusion' is bogus. Regardless of what people will tell you it is NOT the best way to cut fat either. Will it work? Yes. Is it all that and a bag of chips? Hell no.

The program gets no respect because its advocates keep misrepresenting it and pushing their false beliefs. I bought the program, I've done it, it doesn't fit my goals. But I know now what it is and what it isn't. You should do some research here and learn that for yourself.