When people think of the P90X workout, they usually picture people with beautiful or bulky muscles. However, there is a large group of people who want to know if the P90X workout can make their bodies lean. This group is generally women and rightfully so. Most women do not want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger and with a workout that's as popular as the P90X, it's a great question.

So without further ado, here is the answer: Yes, it can be a lean workout, provided you do 2 things:

1. Lift 5-10 pound weights. This does not force too much pressure on your muscles when you go through the workout and allows more focus on lean muscle growth rather than the other way around.

2. Make sure to follow all of the rules and instructions of the workout program, especially the dieting portion as it is probably even more important than the workout itself. The dieting portion of this program will ensure your body receives maximum results and nutrition to feed the muscle development.

That is pretty much it. If you want to go farther and find a middle ground between toning and muscle growth, use weights that are not too heavy for you, but at the same time not too light either. A good rule of thumb is to try a dumbbell that you can lift without any major effort and use that or use that as a reference to go lower or higher.

Keep in mind that not all exercises in this program are weight lifting. There is also a lot of cardiovascular training as well as regular types of workouts including pull ups, pushups and sit ups. These types of workouts do not increase muscle mass, but in fact make them more toned and lean.

Of course there is also the difficulty element of the program which you will have to get used to. While it is true that certain workouts that provide excellent muscle growth and toning such as pull ups are very difficult for most to do, try not to push yourself too far or force yourself to complete something your body isn't used to.

Too often, people feel that if they push themselves far enough, they'll get far, but this is a one way ticket to injury. It is recommended by the program for safety to take things at a comfortable pace. If you can't do a pull up for example, pull yourself as far as you can, then as time goes on, go further and further.

As for results, if you follow through with the above 2 recommendations, you should see excellent lean results from the P90X program. If you read reviews from women on this program, you'll find many of them are very happy with their results. These are regular women who want to be toned and lean, not bulky.