Caloric needs for P90X/Insanity hybrids.

Have you finished P90X?  Are you thinking of doing a P90X / Insanity hybrid routine?  Are you unsure of what phase of the nutrition plan to follow?  Here are some guidelines that I find helpful:

The first step is to figure out the caloric intake needed to maintain. A general rule of thumb is 10-12 calories per lb. of body weight for men and 8-10 calories per lb. for women. A 200 lb man would need between 2000 - 2400 calories per day, and a 150 lb woman would need between 1200 – 1500 calories per day.  .

Once you have determined your caloric range you need to decide what you want to achieve during this phase of your program. If you want to lose fat you will need to have a calorie deficit; if building mass is the goal then a calorie surplus is needed; and if you simply want to maintain your results then your calorie totals should stay between the maintenance ranges.

The above calorie ranges would be fine if you were exercising two to four times a week at a moderate level. But you’re not are you?  No, YOU ARE GOING EXTREME and this must be factored into the equation

The one mistake I see over and over again is that people forget to factor in the calories they will be burning during the workouts of the program. P90X and Insanity are EXTREME workout programs and these workouts burn around 500 calories per day. If you don’t consume enough calories to fuel your body then you won’t be able to “Bring It” during the workouts and your results will suffer.  Factoring in this calorie burn is essential to getting results. 

So, taking the example of a 200lb man who wants to burn fat let’s figure out the numbers. Normally he should consume between 2000 – 2400 calories. If we factor in an extra 500 calories per day to fuel the workouts, the range changes to 2500 – 2900 calories. Now, factor in a calorie deficit of 300 calories per day to trigger weight loss, and we have a range of 2200 – 2600 calories per day.

Nutrition is a big part of the program and understanding the relationship between caloric intake and performance is the key to maximizing your results. Take the time to educate yourself about nutrition. Putting in a bit of effort in the kitchen as well as the gym could change your life in ways you can’t even imagine.

Keep pressing play, Dig Deeper, and Bring It!