By Albert Stumm
If you ever turned on the TV in the 2000s after midnight, you might have seen an informercial for P90X.
The exercise program promised shredded abs and bulging biceps for anyone who pushed themselves to their limits for 90 days of 90-minute workouts. So it may come as a surprise that its creator, Tony Horton, now preaches the benefits of rest and warns against overtraining.
“I didn’t know then what I know now,” said Horton, who had spent the ’90s training celebrities. “Back then it was all about warm-ups and cool-downs, and telling them to eat better and get off the hooch.”
His evolution reflects a broader shift in the exercise industry away from a “no pain, no gain” mentality that once dominated but often led to injury. Instead, the current buzzword in fitness is “recovery.”
Horton — who at 66 still exudes a boyish exuberance — noted that
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