P90X Works – Even if it is a Bunch of Hyped up Nonsense
By: Keith
Up to now I’ve refrained from writing any sort of review on P90X. The fact is that so few people actually finish the complete program that I didn’t want to give it glowing reviews just to see people spend all that money and then leave the DVD’s to gather dust. But perhaps I haven’t given my fellow man enough credit. Maybe it is worth talking about. P90X works, but telling you it works is a little like telling you going to Harvard works. Of course it works, but that’s irrelevant to whether or not you’ll actually do it. It takes a serious degree of determination to go through the whole thing. Determination that is unfortunately lacking in most people. What about muscle confusion? Does it work? Yes, but it’s not a new concept – it’s what every person who knows anything about fitness has been doing since forever. What makes P90X unique and such a big seller is that, for the first time, someone has put a complete fitness program into one package. I know a lot about fitness; I used to make a living at it. The truth is that P90X is everything anybody who’s being introduced to a life of fitness will need to get a solid and effective start. Yes, there are other ways to get in shape; P90X is not the definitive method, but it is a good one, and it’s a significant accomplishment for anybody who completes it. P90X can be done three ways, Classic, Doubles, or Lean. I’ve done the classic program 3 times. I also did P90X Plus once.          Â
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What’s Good about Classic:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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1. Tony Horton: Tony Horton is a unique individual. He understands that, for most people, working out is a process requiring motivation. Tony Horton is P90X’s most effective component. He was 45 years old when he did the video. When you do it you can’t help but be reminded that if he can do it, so can you. Without Tony P90X wouldn’t be a huge seller.  Motivation is the name of the game, and he’s got it.         Â
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2. Yoga: I’ve written about the P90X yoga before, but it’s worth repeating that doing it really makes you feel good. It’s not yoga in the traditional sense of a spiritual and meditative experience. It’s Tony Horton yoga. Yes, he tries to be calm, cool, and collected – he really tries. But, it’s Tony, and being calm, cool, and collected is not his strong suit.  It’s fun because he’s no expert at yoga, but he’s out there doing it anyway. It’s very real.        Â
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3. All the Weight Routines: Of course, the reason people do P90X is for the weight routines. Yup, they all work, and they’re all equally awesome. You’ll rotate them every 3 weeks.  You’ll do Shoulders & Arms, for instance, for three weeks then have a rest week (which makes a month in total). The next three weeks you’ll do a different DVD  returning to Shoulders and Arms in week 9, the final month (which is then split into two, two week cycles).         Â
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4. Plyometrics: It works, and it’s good for your legs. What else can I say. If you have weak legs, you won’t when you’re done with Plyometrics.        Â
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5. Core Synergistics: This is part of the rest week routine. It’s still pretty challenging, but it isn’t as hard as the other stuff. It’s intended to give you a nice overall core workout without being overly stressful during the rest week. Yeah, it works, but it’s nothing really to write home about.          Â
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What’s not Good About it:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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1. Kenpo X: I wrote a martial arts based workout that’s a lot better than P90X’s version. Kenpo X is just a bunch of silly bouncing around that doesn’t burn calories but still manages to waste an hour of your time. After the first month, I started doing Plyometrics twice a week instead of the Kenpo X DVD.        Â
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2. X Stretch: Do yourself a favor and just buy an hour long easy yoga DVD. X Stretch isn’t necessarily bad; it does work. But, it’s a complete waste of time. If you’re going to stretch, you might as well either do it from a picture book (so you can watch a movie while you stretch or something) or just get a basic yoga DVD.        Â
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3. The Cheesiness: Yes, P90X is cheesy. The set is made up to seem like it’s an industrial warehouse; you know, where real men workout. Tony Horton, awesome as he is, has some really cheesy arghhh inducing moments. Just don’t do the video in front of anybody else and you might be able to keep a straight face.        Â
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4. Food Guide: I almost forgot there was a meal plan involved with P90X. I discarded it in the first week. The truth is this: You either understand good nutrition or you don’t. You either understand that candy bars are not food or you don’t – Lean protein, complex carbohydrates, beans and vegetables, lots of water. There, that’s the food guide.        Â
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5. The Accessories: If you’re really out of shape, get a heart monitor because you’ll probably want to know when your heart is about to pop. Apart from that, which can be bought at any athletic store, the pull-up bar is overpriced (build one or buy a cheap one from Walmart), the protein drink is ridiculous (Milk is more nutritious), I’ve never used push up stands, the Select Tech dumbbells are not the best on the market (that distinction goes to power-block). Let’s see, did I forget anything? If I did, just remember – do not buy any extras from beachbody. It’s overpriced and mostly unnecessary.        Â
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P90X Plus: I did one complete round of P90X Plus. All it is is a few more good workouts and another crappy Kenpo attempt. It’s slightly more intense than P90X classic, and they’ve shorted it so the workouts are only 45 minutes instead of an hour each. In other words, you’ll burn about the same amount of calories, but you’ll do it in ¾ths the time.  I still use the IntervalX DVD from P90X plus even though I’m not doing P90X anymore. That one DVD, for me, is so awesome that it makes up for the cost of most of the rest of the package. The Core Plus routine is decent, but it’s not any better than the 15 minute core workout that comes with P90X classic. It’s not better, just different.       Â
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What to do After P90X:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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I was already in good shape when I started P90X. I used the program as a means to organize and standardize my workouts. Along the way I learned some new moves, and enjoyed bopping along with Tony and his crew. After you finish, and you become slim and healthy, you won’t want to stop. But, that doesn’t mean you have to continue P90X by the book. P90X helped me make up a series of my own workouts that use a few moves I learned from P90X, and many that I already had in my repertoire, but are designed for my personal taste. By the time I had finished the program once I had all the DVD’s memorized so I didn’t need to watch them anymore. I’m now able to finish a whole 1 hour routine in about 35 minutes thanks to not watching the videos. Things change after you do a whole round (without screwing it up or missing days). You gain confidence in your ability to follow through on working out, and you become an adherent to the principals of fitness and nutrition. The bottom line? Yes, P90X absolutely works. The reality is that most people will start and not finish. They’ll give up because it’s hard. Don’t be one of those people and you’ll be well rewarded. Anything worth having is worth working for. Fitness is no different.        Â
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I don’t have any videos of me pre-P90X, but I do have some photos that show what I looked like before I started. I was skinny before P90X because I was primarily a runner. The photos below were taken when I was training for the Chicago Marathon. I was running 80 miles a week then. I was 33 and my mile time was still in the 4:30′s. Obviously weights were not my priority. But, as I’ve gotten older I’ve abandoned the heavy running in favor of a more all-around fitness. I took up my Martial arts again and did P90X. Now, I weigh a little more, but I feel healthier and stronger.   Â
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This is me while training for the Chicago Marathon in 2006. I was already in good shape but skinny.  Â
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This is me with some friends before running the Waunafest 10 mile run in 2007. Â
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 This is a video of me at some point during my P90X experience in 2009 (but I can’t remember where I was in the program). Â
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This is one of my workout videos from this year, 2010. Â
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See all my workouts here. They include videos and written explanations.Â
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Good article! I’d add that plyometrics should NOT be done by people who aren’t already in decent shape. They are always seen as advanced exercises and are done no more than a couple of times a week even by people who are really fit. (Or maybe I should say they shouldn’t be done more than a couple of times a week. I’m sure there are people who do them every day.) I’ve quit doing lower body plyo exercises all together because they tear up my knees further than they’re already torn up. (And I miss them!) I haven’t done a workout tape in a long time. Maybe…
Beth: I see what you’re saying because I think a lot of people have had bad experiences with plyo, but I would suggest that is mostly because they are doing it wrong. I had bad knees shortly after I graduated from college. I thought I’d never run again. It was a pure coincidence that I found out what was wrong. I started doing martial arts, and I developed a close relationship with my master (I eventually took over his academy for him). He taught me how to land and how to jump that completely protects my knees. I started running again, and my knee problems disappeared. I could do plyo every day without problems. But, and I’ll agree with you here, people who are just getting started need to learn how to jump, and even walk right, before they dive into plyo. You have an excellent point there. I just have to disagree that Plyo itself is the problem; I think it’s that people should spend a little time working to improve balance, strengthen their ankles and hips, and then learn how to jump train effectively.
Please do tell how to run/jump protecting the knee
This is just going to make all the fat people like me jealous!
You know the thing is, I’ve been wanting to do P90X for a while now. And the really funny thing is, before clicking on your site here, I wrote a blog about how I’ve let myself go and it’s time for a change in my physical fitness. I’m really jealous of your ability to work out like that. I’ve never had the discipline it takes to get into really great shape. I’m about to though.
Oh, absolutely! I don’t think plyometrics are the problem in themselves. Just that it’s really hard to get it right watching a video of it. I wish someone would teach me how to land properly. My knees give me loads of trouble. Any advice that can be written? (I know it’s better to see it demonstrated!)
If I try this, I’m going to need a song from any of the “Rocky” soundtracks blasting in my ears for every single second of the workouts. That’s going to be a must. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl.
It sounds like kind of an interesting program. Twenty years ago I was a physical beast- 9% body fat could run and lift all day long. And then life happened and I did a poor job of maintaining things.
So now years later I hate looking in the mirror because I never look the way I expect or should. Been working hard on making changes and the one thing that I know for certain is that diet and perseverance make a huge difference.
If it is a decent workout and people stick to it they will see changes, but most don’t. The instant gratification society isn’t real big on that.
Wow. I’m very much looking forward to doing your martial arts workout.
Because just last week, on my blog, I was sort of raving about how my abs felt after Kenpo X;
http://marginalizingmorons.blogspot.com/2010/11/getting-my-kicks.html
I’d say that’s a fair write up. You’re right, most people don’t finish P90X and its unfortunate. I’m kind of like you in that I use to run a lot and since starting P90X I prefer to do more all around fitness routines.
I have also gotten great results from P90x. I was able to go from 225 to 167 in about 6 months. It truly is a difficult system but it was and is well worth my time. I am on day 84 on my second round. I also fit Insanity into the mix. I have actually started doing double between P90x and Hip Hop Abs. I like the mix too. Please feel free to check out my fitness blog.
Jordan
I am doing the P90X2 right now. I did the P90X and Insanity workout last year. The problem is that I have not done anything for about 6 months and I am back out of shape. Bad news! But P90X2 is pretty sweet.
hola soy mexicana y me interesa mucho comprar el paquete completo de p90x en español donde lo puedo conseguir gracias
Hola Claudia,
El programa lo puedes comprar en espanol directamente en beachbody.com. Ve a la seccion de P90X y en la parte superior derecha esta el enlace a la seccion en espanol. Mucha suerte y gracias por visitar.