P90x entirely different than I envisioned it

[Freepressright]

We've all been guilty of judging a book by its cover.

Let's face it, there are things in the world of weightlifting and bodybuilding that we come to believe in very deeply, and we have a tendency to "poo poo" things we either don't understand or just don't seem cool to us. I was guilty of this with P90x.

I wrote it off as some stupid circuit training program for the weak hearted. But after my boss, a jiu-jitsu and shotokan black belt with a martial arts school and longtime lifter, a badass in every respect, suggested I try it, I listened.

I have to confess, I have been fighting severe boredom and frustration with the gym. I work out at a college athletic center. The upside is that the equipment is killer. It's everything any of us would ever dream of under one roof. But the downside is that the time of day I have to go, I am forced to battle students to get on equipment (football team hogging squat racks and benches, rightfully so, etc), and in the summertime, the hours suck. Some days I can't even make it.

Also, with summer coming and me being in two different bands with busy schedules, I could stand to step back from the bulking mentality and build some endurance to get me through those 90-degree shows where I'm running my ass off with a guitar on for four hours.

It was the perfect time in my life to try something different.

I confess, after two weeks, I'm loving P90x. It's a very well designed program, it works your ass off and it leaves you sore. It addresses so many areas that weightlifting alone doesn't.

Before anyone who has never done it or never looked at the plan chimes in and writes it off as something like Cross Fit, it isn't.

Mondays I'm doing back and chest. I've gone back to the basics and busted out my chinup bar, my perfect pushups and dumbbells.

Tuesdays, I'm getting my ass kicked with an hour-long plyometrics (jump training) video that has me so damn sore days afterwards that it makes squat day seem almost easy. No, I'm not exaggerating.

Wednesdays I'm doing shoulders and arms. You can do with dumbbells and bands.

Thursdays it's Yoga X - and it's great for stability, stretching and flexibility.

Fridays it's legs and back

Saturdays it's Kenpo X, which is great because I have a Kenpo background and Sundays I take off.

There's also an option for an Ab Ripper X to do at the ends of M, W & F.

So, haters, make fun of me. Crack your jokes, have a laugh at me, LOL. It's fun. And it's teaching me cool things that I can adapt and take with me when I go back into the gym.

I enjoy learning and I enjoy variety.

No, I'm not trying to sell anybody on it. But I'd like to have a dialog on it. I think it is far more meritorious than I ever gave it credit. For $80, it's killer.

[Coolazice]

A girl burned some P90x DVDs for me a couple years ago, but I never even looked at them, other than the Yoga video - and that was only one time. It did leave me pretty sore though. lol Perhaps I should take a peek at them now.

Thanks for the review!

[sandman]

P90x is a great workout. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone trying to really gain weight unless their calories are super high but at this time of the year when we're trying to cut up for the summer, you can't really beat it. Insanity is another good choice.

[longBallLima]

it's the one program i never shat on and recommended to people who can't make it to the gym.

[Freepressright]

P90x is a great workout. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone trying to really gain weight unless their calories are super high but at this time of the year when we're trying to cut up for the summer, you can't really beat it. Insanity is another good choice.

I'd agree, although it is entirely possible to modify the program to use heavy weights (if you have them at home) and do fewer reps. If your calories were in surplus, you could grow with it. But that isn't really the goal. Cutting up for summer, it's a damn good program for that. It absolutely will build lean muscle.

[KAB111]

I used P90X to get back in the gsame after being gone for a number of years. It was a great way to get back to a level of strength and endurance that i could build upon once i joined a gym again. Plus I got to be a wuss in the privacy of my own home! P90x is tough, I bought P90x+ and itsd really tough as well.

[Freepressright]

I got the P90x Plus discs as a bonus with mine. I haven't really checked them out yet. I will, though. It's definitely a tough program.

There's some pretty damn impressive transformations. This guy was a 370-pound lard ass and dropped 180 pounds in a year and a half and is cut up. His first round he lost 60 pounds, and about another 60 on round two.

P90X&#174 Success Stories - P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program - Beachbody.com


This guy was also a total lard ass and after a year on the program is ripped and has BF in the single digits.
P90X&#174 Success Stories - P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program - Beachbody.com

[Fat Bill Dwyer]

Hey bro, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you need to put rep in your sig.

[Freepressright]

LOL! I wish. That would mean I'd be getting money, or product. Right now I'm getting neither.

[Fat Bill Dwyer]

LOL! I wish. That would mean I'd be getting money, or product. Right now I'm getting neither.

You could be in the video doing crunches and wailing on a guitar with sweaty well-tanned rock-hard p90x chicks.