P90 Workout Review

P90x is the extreme home workout videos that many people have seen on TV infomercials. My wife and I purchased P90x about a year ago after going through the Power 90 Boot Camp (both products feature Tony Horton as the trainer and are from Beachbody). We live in Minnesota and working out in the winter can be more than difficult. Our busy schedules have kept us out of gym memberships, so getting a good workout in our home with limited equipment was definitely a goal.

When you purchase the program, you get 12 workout DVDs, a workout (instructions) guide, and a nutrition guide. In addition to the DVDs, you’ll also need workout clothes and shoes, various sized dumb bells, lots of water, and a way to do pull-ups (you can use a resistance band but it’s not the same). A yoga mat is optional.

The overall production quality of the DVDs and other materials is excellent. The workouts are well edited and each has a timer on the bottom so you can clearly see where you are in the workout and how much time is left. They also give you the option of playing with or without the music (which is nice). Each workout has Tony Horton leading, with 3-4 others doing the workout with him (a mix of men and women). Usually one person is demonstrating how to make the workout more difficult and another is showing what to do it you want to go easier.

Some reviewers have been tough on Tony Horton’s style and humor. I found that, overall, he kept the workouts interesting and he give frequent feedback and options for many of the moves. Don’t worry about Tony.

Let me say clearly that these workouts are difficult. If you’re out of shape or just starting, consider another program first and work up to P90X (my wife and I did the Power 90 Boot Camp first). Some of the workouts are easier than others, but the overall program is a commitment, and there are many times (especially in the first 2 weeks) where they can become overwhelming. Don’t underestimate the difficulty. On Beachbody’s website there’s a fitness test you can take to see if you’re ready for P90x.

The workout program uses the 12 DVD workouts and schedules them over 90 days. There are 3 versions of the workout - classic, lean (more cardio and less weights), and doubles (double workouts on some days). My wife and I did the classic workout. The nice thing about the schedule is that there’s no question about what to do or when to do it. Just start at Day 1 and work towards Day 90.

All the workouts include the warmup, the workout itself, and stretching. The DVDs included are:

1. Chest and Back: This is lots of pull-ups and pushups. Lots of people have trouble with pull-ups and they are hard. Sticking with it was the key for me.

2. Plyometrics: The is what Tony describes at the ‘mother’ of all the workouts. It plenty of jumping and leaping with very few breaks. It’s the workout that requires the most cardio effort.

3. Shoulders and Arms: A resistance workout, this one emphasizes different arm exercises with various kinds of curls etc.

4. Yoga X: I was hesitant to even try this. What I found out was that it was a lot tougher than I thought and it really helped with my overall flexibility. The hardest part was setting aside 1 1/2 hrs for this workout each week.

5. Legs and Back: Pull-ups again this time with leg exercises like squats.

6. Kenpo X: This is a martial arts workout with punching and kicking. The upside is that it’s different and interesting which really helped. One of our favorites (this workout encouraged me to look for other MMA workouts - check out my Pit Workout Review).

7. X Stretch: A supplemental workout for the off weeks. As each workout already has stretching, we rarely did this workout.

8. Core Synergistics: For some reason this one was always tough for me. It was like a cardio workout that you do with light weights.

9. Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps: More pushups and weights.

10. Back and Biceps: More pull-ups and squats.

11. Cardio X: This is a great workout to do even before you start the program because it takes about 15 minutes of Plyometrics, Kenpo, and Core Synergistics and rolls it into one workout. This is still my wife’s favorite.

12. Ab Ripper X: All different kinds of abs crunches etc. Killer.

Probably the hardest part of the program is sticking with it for 90 days. Inevitably there comes a day when you’re sick or are too busy and want to put it off and skip a day. In my past, this is where I’ve fallen off a program and had difficulty getting back on track. Working out with someone really helps.

One of the big upsides to this program is that it works well for both men and women. In the workouts, there’s usually at least 1 guy and 1 girl doing the workouts. Tony explains the proper weights and reps for men and women so that each can achieve their goals. For us, that meant that instead of me finding an hour a day for a workout and my wife finding another, we set aside time each day to workout together. A big plus for us and a necessity for the program to work for us.

One of the things these workouts clearly do is burn calories. There are water breaks in the programs, but generally you are kept moving. At the end of the workouts you really felt like you accomplished something (especially the Plyometrics). Even the resistance-based workouts keep moving and there’s minimal breaks between the sets.

The results were better than what I expected but not quite what you see in the infomercials. We didn’t do all the before and after measuring and pictures, but you can easily tell the results just by how the workouts gradually get easier and you are able to do more reps and/or need heavier weights. For instance, the first trip through the P90X Ab Ripper workout was killer. By the end of 90 days it was still a workout but much (much) easier than it had been. Same with pull-ups and pushups. In the beginning, doing even a couple pull-ups was tough, but by the end I was keeping up with Tony in the video.

The other part of getting results is in changing (or controlling) you eating habits. We did worse at that and I’m sure we would have had even better results had we followed that part of the program with the same diligence.

The big question we had is after 90 days, now what? We’ve kept up with using the DVDs, though we’ve basically picked the ones we like the best. That’s done a reasonable job of maintaing the results we achieved, but it might be time soon to give it another 90 days.

Pros

• great workout variety with 12 different workouts
  
• works well for both men and women
• tough workouts with great results
• excellent production quality and on-screen timers

Cons

• some workouts are too long (Yoga X is 90 min)
• cost
• some equipment required
  

The program isn’t cheap at $139, but the quality of the DVDs and workout materials are top notch. We found them of value and have used them for over a year. You do need some equipment, but it’s all relatively cheap and easily available at any sporting goods store.

As with any workout program you should consult your doctor before starting.