I'm in week 6 of the p90x cycle and so far am very happy with the product and with the results that I've seen. I'm somebody who was already in shape and decided to replace my previous gym routine with p90x. I have a tall and skinny build (about 6'1, 175 lbs), and have been able to notice budding ab muscles along with some improvements in my chest and legs. The workouts are hard, and the first time through each of them can be very frustrating, but if you stick with it you'll find that each time you do a routine, you get better at it. I don't follow the diet plan, but I have been eating protein bars and have cut down on snack food since I began the program. Here is my breakdown of each routine.
1) Chest and back: You do this routine on day 1 of weeks 1,2,3,9,11, and it is almost all pull-ups and push-ups. When I began p90x, I could do about 1 to 2 pull-ups, and now I can do about 6 to 7 at a time, depending on the type (you use different grips for each exercise). There are about 5 types of push-ups and pull-ups which you alternate between, and then the whole routine is repeated. This is definitely one of the harder routines, and at the end you can barely lift your arms. You need a pull-up bar for this routine. I also use push-up bars which helps my wrists and improves my form.
2) Plyometrics: You do this routine on day 2 of weeks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12. This is the hardest of all of the routines, as you are constantly jumping and squatting. There are 5 sets of exercises which each have three 30 second exercises followed by one 60 second (easier) exercise. There is one additional sports set at the end which is easier than the other five. This is definitely the most draining workout, and the first time through, I had to pause it multiple times. Now, I can do it with almost no pauses, but it completely wipes me out by the end. If you have hard floors like I do, I recommend a workout mat. Mine slides around a bit, so I have to pin it under the couch in my apartment.
3) Arms and shoulders: You do this routine on day 3 of weeks 1,2,3,9,11. This routine is mostly focused around lifting either weights or using resistance bands. There is always one person in the video using bands, so you can use either and not worry about not knowing what to do. I use resistance bands since they are less expensive. During this routine, you do multiple sets of lifting exercises: biceps, followed by shoulders, followed by triceps. While it is less grueling than days 1 and 2, it still makes your arms very tired by the end.
4) Yoga: You do this routine on day 4 of weeks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12, and on days 1 and 6 of weeks 4,8,13. This workout is longer than any of the other workouts (about 90 minutes). The first half of the workout is very intense and is mostly different "warrior" poses. Most of these poses involve being in a lunge stance for a few minutes at a time and really make you balance while working leg muscles. This part of the routine is as hard as anything else you do in p90x. The second half of the routine is much easier and you mostly do different balance postures and stretches. I've been splitting this workout up and doing the second half after work, which I prefer doing so that I don't have to wake up as early. Overall, this workout (especially the first half) is very difficult, and it takes work to master each pose. You need a yoga mat for this one.
5) Legs and back: You do this routine on day 5 of weeks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12. It consists of sets of 2 leg exercises (squats or lunges) followed by one round of pull-ups. The wall squats and one legged wall squats are the most difficult exercises and really make your legs burn. Overall, it is not as intense on your legs as the plyometrics day, but it is still very difficult. The people in the video hold weights during most of the leg exercises, but I don't own them, so I just do the exercises without them which is hard enough. The pull-ups are similar to the ones from chest and back.
6) Kenpo: You do this routine on day 6 of weeks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12 and day 3 of weeks 4,8,13. This routine is a bit easier than the others, but still gives you a good workout. You throw a lot of kicks and punches during a short period of time, without a lot of breaks. It is good cardio and is the most fun routine to do.
7) Stretching: You do this routine on day 7 of every week, and also on day 4 of weeks 4,8,13. During this routine you stretch out muscles of each part of the body. Most of these exercises are from the warmups of other routines or are from the second half of the yoga routine. It's important to give your body a rest and stretching can make you better at the other routines. I try to do it each week and have only skipped it once so far. I find this routine very relaxing. This is also a good day to do the Cardio X routine as well since it is not very difficult, and I don't feel like I get enough cardio with only two days each week devoted to it.
8) Core: You do this routine during days 2 and 5 of weeks 4,8,13. You do a hybrid of exercises which work different muscle groups. Some of the exercises work abs, while there are also push-up exercises for your chest, and others for your legs and back. While not as hard as some of the routines you do other weeks, this not an easy workout.
9) Chest, triceps, shoulders: You do this routine during day 1 of weeks 5,6,7,10,12. This is one of the hardest routines of the program, and after you finish, you will barely be able to move your arms. The push-ups from this routine are much harder than the ones from other days, and some (such as one arm push-ups) are still too hard for me to do. The triceps and shoulder exercises are similar to the ones you do during the other weeks, but doing them on the same day as the push-ups makes them much more difficult.
10) Biceps and back: You do this routine during day 3 of weeks 5,6,7,10,12. While this is not the hardest workout in the program, your arms will feel sore by the end, as you do a lot of bicep curls and pull-ups. It is slightly shorter than the other routines, which makes it go by quickly.
11) Abs: You do this routine on days 1,3,5 of weeks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12 at the end of the other routines each day. The ab workout is maybe the best workout of the package and gives the most visible results. It is 15 minutes long, and is hard work. The first few times through, I couldn't get through the entire routine, and my abs hurt afterward, but I've improved since, and have noticed the most results from this workout.
12) Cardio X: I did this workout a few times during the rest week (4,8,13). It starts out with some of the "warrior" yoga moves, followed by some kenpo, then some plyo, and finally some of the core exercises from other days. This workout isn't to difficult and is a good supplement if you have some extra time to burn off additional calories, especially since you only do cardio twice a week usually.
Overall, I'm very happy with the program. The dvd's are good quality (although they aren't wide-screen which is annoying since the black bars on the sides of the screen are becoming visible when I watch other things on TV). I also like that during each workout there is a status bar at the bottom of the screen which tells you how much longer the workout is as well as how long you have left in the current exercise (although the status bar has also burned into my screen a little bit). The casing that holds the DVDs is pretty bad, so you might want to put them in a jewel case instead so that they don't get scratched up, as I've seen a few people complaining about this in the comments. Tony is a bit cheesy at times, but I don't mind that. Some people complain that he talks too much between exercises, but he has to in order to give you enough time to rest between each exercise. The only thing which I find annoying is that he advertises the recovery drink during each routine. He's pretty good at describing the exercises, but the first time through, you might want to watch how to do some of them. I was already going to a gym and running each day for a half an hour, so the time commitment isn't too much worse for me than before and I don't have to leave my apartment. It is definitely for people who are already in shape, so I recommend if you haven't worked out in a while that you should probably ease into it with the cardio x, stretching, and kenpo routines before getting into the others. As I said above, I don't do the diet plan, but I've made an effort to eat healthier foods and more protein, which I think is good enough. I also end up getting drinks with friends each week, so I try to make up for it by either running a little extra on those days or doing Cardio X in addition to my other routine. When I do go out, I also try to stay away from mixed drinks which contain a lot of sugar. A few times I've been away for a weekend and had to skip a day, but I made up for it by pushing everything back and then doing stretching on the same day as Kenpo to catch up. p90x is definitely a much more fun and more motivating way to work out, and if you work hard enough, you will get results.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 10.28 x 9.61 x 4.61 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 1.15 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 11 x 7.5 x 4.5 inches |
| Item Weight | 880 Grams |
| Brand Name | Beachbody |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Material | Plastic |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Manufacturer | Beachbody Inc., |
| Part Number | P90XDVD2114 |
| Model Year | 2014 |
| Included Components | DVD |
| Size | 2lbs |
