Can You Do P90X and Train for a Half-Marathon at the Same Time?

I got an email today from one of my P90X buddies about the challenges associated with doing P90X and training for a half-marathon at the same time. Her question was (in a nutshell), “Do you do P90X and run on the same day? Do you alternate? I just don’t know how I can do both of these without quitting my job.”

I thought it was such a good question that I decided to write a post about. So here goes:

Yes, you can do P90X and run on the same day. That being said, it depends on where you are in your training schedule. If you’re doing longer runs (anything more than 45 minutes) during the week you may want to scale back on your P90X schedule a bit. You definitely don’t want to overdo it!

When I first started training for my half-marathon I did Doubles. Except instead of doing Cardio X, I went for a run. This was manageable because my runs were fairly short and quick (3-4 miles). And on the weekend, instead of doing Kenpo X I did my long run. When I do Doubles I usually prefer to do my cardio workout in the AM and my strength training workout in the PM. Yeah, it can definitely be a challenge trying to juggle your schedule. 🙂 When I do Doubles the hardest part for me is keeping up with all the extra sweaty laundry. Eeewww!

HOWEVER, once I started getting into my longer runs, things became a bit more tricksy. So I scaled back on P90X and instead of doing both on the same day (Doubles) I pretty much follow the Classic plan and run instead of doing the P90X cardio workouts. I haven’t done Plyo X for a quite a few weeks now. This would be a typical week:

Monday: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thursday: Yoga X
Friday: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: X Stretch

You can alternate the strength training workouts from week to week but I would recommend doing Legs, Back, Chest, and Yoga X at least once a week. Upper body is a weak spot for me so I like to do pull-ups (Back) a couple times a week. You may want to experiment with Yoga X and see if you like doing it before or after your long run. You can also divide the strength training workouts and do them on different days if you want. Tony Horton also has a lot of One of One DVDs that you can use for strength training if you want more variety.

Doing P90X and training for a half-marathon isn’t for the faint of heart, but it can be done. 🙂 If you’d like a little extra help, sign-up for a free Team Beachbody account, and I’ll be assigned as your coach!