Workout Kit and Program Review: P90X2 Series Ultimate Kit

This is the Ultimate Kit for P90x2, which comes with the Tony Horton Power Stands, a foam roller (the rumble roller), and two 8-lb medicine balls. I love this workout. I actually like this a lot more than the original version. Since most people who are considering this have already been exposed to P90x, I will highlight some of the differences for you.

1) Like P90x, it is a three-phase program. The big key for me in X2 is there is more variety. For example, in P90x aside from the recovery week, you did the same legs and back workout every week. In X2, the only program you do in more than one month is the plyometrics workout. That is in phases I and II, but not in III. There is a recovery and mobility DVD that you can also use on your rest days throughout the program.

2) X2 yoga is much better. It takes all the good stuff from the original p90x yoga but compresses it into 61 min as opposed to 90 minutes. It flows much better, and I never found myself getting bored or wishing it would stop.

3) Foam rolling is awesome. In P90x you had a stretching DVD that you could use on your rest day. Here, there is a recovery and mobility DVD, the bulk of which is foam rolling. It is hard if you have never done it before, but if you stick with it, it will make your body feel so much better. The rest of recovery and mobility is stretching and low-impact movements.

4) There is less cardio in X2. X1 had the karate workout, plyometrics, and an optional cardio DVD. The only traditional cardio workout in X2 is plyometrics, and it is very different than the X1 version. The circuits in the regular workouts however kept my heart rate up so I still burned a lot of calories. And, in phase III you basically alternate two different workouts which do have quite a bit of cardio in them, and you do the 4 moves in the circuit back-to-back without stopping, then repeat the circuit 4 times. While it does not get your heart rate up like a program such as Insanity does, it does make you winded.

5) They focus a lot on the modifier in X2. They really set the workout up so you do not need all the equipment for people who are not ready to be balancing on medicine balls and stability balls, or who are traveling and cannot take all the equipment with them.

6) While some of the workouts are similar to what you saw in X1, they are more challenging. There are still lots of pull-ups and push-ups, but you are doing push-ups on medicine balls or stability balls, which are much different than they are on the floor. Even if you have done several rounds of P90x, there will be somewhat of a learning curve in X2.

Obviously, the best workout for you is the one you can stick with. I like rotating the beachbody workouts because, let's face it, the same workout over and over gets boring, and even when split into phases your body will begin to adapt. The price on Amazon is pretty steep (you can find it for a lot less), and you always have to watch out for bootlegged copies from third-party sellers. There is always some subjectivity in what you are going to like or dislike. For people who are fans of the original, I think X2 definitely will have something to offer.

 

Workout Kit Review: P90X DVD Workout Base Kit

 

I think the infomercial has been out there long enough to know what the program is all about, so I am going to list my opinion of the pros and cons. I have done multiple Beachbody programs, and actually, this is not my favorite. That said I still think it is very good.

Pros:

1) It can eliminate the need to go to the gym. While there are some benefits to going to a gym for sure, I definitely find that working out at home saves time and money.

2) It is a highly structured program. This is a good thing if you are a beginner, because it tells you what to do on what days, and requires very little guesswork.

3) It uses resistance training and cardio but is not excessive on either one. Most of the workouts are slightly over an hour or shorter.

4) It comes with a good, easy-to-follow nutrition plan, which is essential to getting good results.

5) there are different versions depending on your goals. There is a lean, classic, and doubles version of the program. The lean is for people who do not want to put on as much muscle (it eliminates some of the resistance workouts and subs in cardio). The classic is the regular version of the program, which incorporates all the workouts, and the doubles add a second cardio workout on the resistance days.

Cons:

1) It may be hard if you are a true beginner. If you have never worked out at all, or have had a long layoff this will be hard at first. It presumes you are in decent shape to start with. It does have a person doing modified moves, which usually means using resistance bands instead of free weights and lower impact version of the body weight exercises. While a beginner can do the program, you may need to ease into it a bit.

2) It can require a substantial equipment cost beyond just the DVDs. At the very least you will need a set of resistance bands. You can get a good set of relatively inexpensive bands. You need to get a set though so you have different levels of resistance because you will be stronger on some moves over others, and will just generally get stronger during the program. However you will probably want to, at some point, get a set of weights and a pull-up bar so you can do the program fully. That can get quite expensive. You also need a good pair of cross-training shoes (not running shoes) for the plyometrics workout, because it involves a lot of jumping and quick lateral movements.

3) The program gets repetitive. Unlike P90x2 where you get new workouts each month, in this one you do the same 6 workouts for 4 weeks, then take a recovery week, then do a new rotation of workouts, which rotates in two new workouts, but the 4 others remain the same. Then in the last month, you do month one's rotation for two weeks and month two's rotation for two weeks. Some people get really bored with the workouts by that point.

4) The yoga DVD is really long. It is the longest workout clocking in at just over an hour and a half. The first 50 mins or so is great, but then it kind of transitions into a stretching and ab workout. Since the program already has three days of abdominal work built into it, and an optional stretch DVD you can use on the rest day, I personally would cut it off after the first hour or so.

Ultimately, the best workout for you is going to be the one you stick with. I think P90x is a good overall investment despite the cons I gave it. If you order from Amazon make sure it is being fulfilled by Beachbody, which is the company that produces the DVD. Some of the third-party sellers make bootlegged copies and pass that off.

Product Review: Tony Horton Power Stands

 

I got these with the P90x2 deluxe package through Beachbody. They are very sturdy and work well. They are much heavier than the push-up stands that have the "h" shape if you look at them end-on. These are especially good f you are doing wide-arm push-ups ( which were done more in p90x than x2) because they will not tip and roll on you like other push-up stands. 

Like other push-up stands (or using dumbbells) these will give you more range of motion throughout the push-up movement and are great if you have any wrist pain. I have broken my left wrist twice, and it makes doing regular push-ups hard. I have no wrist problems at all when using these. Also, these can be used to do triceps dips while you are seated on the floor, which is not something that is possible with a lot of push-up stands. So, whether you are doing P90X (or X2 or X3), or just incorporating push-ups into your workouts, these are a great option to have.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 53

Day 53 was the last day of this hybrid workout, with the last Friday Fight 2. I was able to again Max Out ten minutes in (10:36 to be exact) while mostly doing unmodified or semi-modified moves for the first ten minutes. Then I had to do a combination of modified and unmodified. 

Overall, I would say that this round went okay, but not as well as I would have liked. My big takeaway from Max 30 is there is a huge difference between how hard the modified workout is versus the unmodified. There is a reason the modifiers can make it through the workouts without maxing out or making it nearly to the end before they max out, while the people who are not modifying generally max out 6-7 minutes into the workouts. 

I have decided that for the next round of workouts I am going to do doubles, but doing a low-impact beginner's pilates as the morning workout to help with my flexibility and core strength, and then Lift 4 as the evening, intense workout. Lift 4 is a four-day workout that combines living heavy weights focused on one or two body parts for the first half of the workout and then doing HIIT cardio for the last half of the workout. The idea is to fatigue your muscles with the heavy lifting and then do intense cardio when you are already spent. I am definitely curious to see how my body will respond to that. 

The Beginner Pilates workout is a six-day-a-week workout that runs for three weeks while Lift 4 is an eight-week program. Right now, my intention is to just do the Pilates workout for the full 8 weeks that I am doing Lift 4, and then switch routines again to go back to Max 30 and see how much better I can do after doing Lift 4. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 52

Day 52 was the Max Out Power workout. This one has probably been the best workout in terms of my max-out times, even though the max-out times have been pretty steady throughout the four weeks. I have pretty much made it to the thirteen-and-a-half-minute mark every time I have done the workout, and this time was the same. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 51

Day 51 was the Max Out Sweat workout. This has been, by far, the worst workout in terms of my max-out times in this round. I generally have maxed out right out, or just around the five-minute mark through the four weeks. This time I again maxed out right at five minutes.   

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 50

Day 50 was the Max Out Power workout. I again made it to just over the 15-minute mark before maxing out, which is pretty much where I have maxed out in this workout since week 2. I still have not figured out what I am going to do for the next workouts, aside from knowing I am going to do one in the morning and one in the evening. I am thinking of a more cardio-based AM workout and a resistance-based PM workout, but we will see. This will also require me to increase my caloric intake quite a bit, but my other option is to do a flexibility-based workout in the and more of a circuit-based workout, so something like P90X3 and then a yoga/pilates/stretching-based workout that is less intense and will allow me to keep my caloric intake closer to where it is at now. At any rate, I will figure that out this weekend.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 49

Day 49 was the max out cardio workout. For this one, I finally busted through my plateau and was able to make it halfway through the workout before I maxed out. And, I was able to do a lot more unmodified or slightly modified moves. I am still not to the point where I want to be with the max out workouts, but I have definitely made progress.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 48

Day 48 was the back and biceps workout from P90x. I really have nothing new to report on this one as I can do the same amount of weight on the resistance moves as the prior week. I did decide to sit down to do the pull-down moves to make them a bit harder. It is funny, in the first P90x workout, Chest and Back, when Scotty is using bands, in the first half of the workout he is sitting and then switches to kneeling in the second half, which Tony claims is harder, and closer to a real pull-up.  I think it is the exact opposite. When you sit down there is more distance between you and where you are pulling from, so you get more resistance and the pull-downs are a lot harder. So, my overall number of reps for those moves dropped pretty significantly.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 47

Day 47 was once again the Kenpo-X workout from P90x. I again wanted a bit more of an intense workout because my nutrition was not all that great on Saturday, so I wanted to burn off some carbs. I pretty much found the workout to be the same as last week, easily keeping up with the cardio, but did find my balance was a bit off on some of the kicks, mostly because of the limited space in my basement if I am not using the thick floor mats (which I avoid for some of the moves because there are depressions in it where the filling has shifted). 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 46

Day 46 was Friday Fight Round 2 again. In this one, I was able to max out about five minutes later into the workout as I did last week. So, I finally feel like I made progress in the workouts. It is still very tough (although not as tough as the original Insanity workouts because those are longer and do not have any modified moves).

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 45

Day 45 was Max Out Strength again. As has been the case with the past few workouts, I maxed out at pretty much the same point as I did last week, during the push-up sequence. The good thing about this workout is that I can get through the warm-up and the first portion (the leg sequence) without having to modify much at all. So, I have made progress.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 44

Day 44 was Max Out Sweat. Again, the workout was pretty similar to last week. I think I am currently plateauing on the Max 30 workouts, so after next week I am going to switch to a different cardio workout and then come back to Max 30 once that is complete. I have not figured out which workout I want to do yet, but I will provide an update when I do. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 43

Day 43 was Max Out Power again. I was able to make it about a minute longer than last week, so I maxed out over halfway through the workout. Although, once I get to the push-up moves I have to modify them as I currently struggle to do even one good rep of the unmodified versions.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 42

Day 42 was Max Cardio again, and it went a little better than last week in terms of my max-out time, but I was still very tired at the end and had to modify more moves than I would have liked.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 41

Day 41 was the P90x back and biceps workout. It went well, but I was not able to hit the 10-rep max for any of the exercises. So, next week, everything will stay the same with the weights.  I am trying to figure out what workout(s) I want to do once this round of Max 30 is over. I am thinking of doing a doubles program with a cardio-based program in the morning and one of the strength-focused programs in the evening, but I am still trying to figure that out.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 40

For Day 40 I switched it up a bit and did the Kenpo-X workout from P90x. I did that for a couple of reasons, first I attended a birthday party the night before and did not exactly eat a great dinner, so I wanted to get a bit of a better workout in than just stretching. Second, I wanted to see how doing a couple of months of Max 30 impacted the p90x cardio workouts. And, as I kind of suspected would be the case, even though I am still struggling in the Max-30 workouts, I would almost say that Kenpo-X was easy. I barely got winded at all and was able to keep up with, and in some cases go faster than those in the video. So, it is a good measure of my progress. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 39

Day 39 was Friday Fight Round 2 again. This workout was interesting because, as has been the case for the past couple of workouts, I definitely feel that my stamina is increasing, even though I still have to take a lot of breaks and Max Out at pretty much the same point in the workout. But, I can tell that my ability to do the tuck jump and burpee moves is getting a lot better (which also makes me tired faster). So, I feel like I am making progress, even though the Max Out times do not really reflect that.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 38

Day 38 was the Max Out Power workout again. It was still very hard, but I found myself being able to do more during the workout, even though I maxed out at pretty much the same point as I did last week. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 37

Day 37 was the Max Out Sweat workout. It pretty much went the same as it did last week, but I was able to get slightly farther into the workout before maxing out. The 45 seconds on ten-second rest can be helpful, but it can also be very hard depending on what moves you have to do for 45 seconds. I generally like the workout overall, but it is one that I am always totally gassed by the end of it.