Hello everyone! Due to the raves of my fellow Catheites, whose judgement I really trust, I got P90X and have just finished week 2 of the classic rotation. I haven't done all of the workouts yet, because I'm still in Phase I. Here are my thoughts so far...
GENERAL
- Although the company's name is "Beachbody" and the website is rife with before and after pictures, the emphasis in the workouts themselves (like Cathe's) is on fitness, not aesthetics.
- Production quality and chaptering are excellent (no premixes, though). I love the set and the background exercisers. (I want to have Adam's baby.) I much prefer Cathe's personality to Tony's, but I like him pretty well and get a kick out of his tongue-in-cheek machismo.
- The fact that you choose your rep range and speed has been an epiphany for me. I'm 5'9" with long limbs, so the rep speed that Cathe (who's 5'2") uses may often not be what's right for me. Although I know I can slow down the reps (and often do) with her workouts, it feels funny to go against the beat of the music.
- The rotation is extremely well-designed and the workouts contain a variety of moves. It seems as though every workout (including Legs & Back) works your core.
- I don't love the warm-ups except for the yoga-ish warm-up to Kenpo X. I love the cool-downs and between-exercise stretches.
- I love the rep counter/timer at the bottom of the screen.
SPECIFIC WORKOUTS
- CHEST & BACK: This is my least favorite workout because I HATE push-ups! I do my absolute best, though, and hope to be much better after 90 days. I don't have a pull-up bar yet, because my house is over 100 yrs old and has very wide trim, so the Door Gym and similar items won't work. I have no room for the Power Tower and I'm concerned about banging my head with just a regular bar screwed into the door. In the meantime, I'm subbing overhand/underhand barbell rows, one-arm rows and pullovers. If/when I ever do get a bar, I'll probably like this workout less...
- PLYOMETRICS: An excellent, intense workout! A nice complement to the Imaxes.
- SHOULDERS & ARMS: This is my favorite workout so far. I adore it.
- YOGA X: I really like this one too! It's challenging, different from my other power yoga videos and Tony explains the moves very well. The 90-minute length can be tough to fit in but I've managed to so far and feel the length really adds to the challenge of the routine. The standing portion seems to go on forever! I wish the routine had more hip openers.
- LEGS & BACK: Fun! Fun! Fun! The variety of moves makes this workout a wonderful complement to the more traditional legwork in Cathe's workouts. I can see how some would miss using heavier weights but variety is a good thing!
- KENPO X: I like KPC WAY more than this. I did like it better the second time I used it and can see the benefit of using a less intense kickboxing workout in P90X's classic rotation. I'm pretty sure I'll start subbing KPC for this but I'll give it a few more tries first.
- X STRETCH: A wonderful, thorough, relaxing video. I did it on my rest day last week but won't get a chance to this week. I've also done the neck/shoulder stretches only and they really helped to ease tightness in those areas.
- AB RIPPER X: I call this "Hip Flexor X" because, man, do the hip flexors get a workout! Doing a lot of Pilates the past few months has helped me with my form tremendously. This is a great ab workout!
QUESTIONS:
- Any ideas for a pull-up bar?
- When in horse stance, are your feet supposed to be facing forward (like Tony and the kids) or should your feet be facing the same direction as your knees?
- How safe do you think diamond and dive-bomber push-ups are?
- Safety of upright rows?
I can't wait to get the Hardcore Series!
GENERAL
- Although the company's name is "Beachbody" and the website is rife with before and after pictures, the emphasis in the workouts themselves (like Cathe's) is on fitness, not aesthetics.
- Production quality and chaptering are excellent (no premixes, though). I love the set and the background exercisers. (I want to have Adam's baby.) I much prefer Cathe's personality to Tony's, but I like him pretty well and get a kick out of his tongue-in-cheek machismo.
- The fact that you choose your rep range and speed has been an epiphany for me. I'm 5'9" with long limbs, so the rep speed that Cathe (who's 5'2") uses may often not be what's right for me. Although I know I can slow down the reps (and often do) with her workouts, it feels funny to go against the beat of the music.
- The rotation is extremely well-designed and the workouts contain a variety of moves. It seems as though every workout (including Legs & Back) works your core.
- I don't love the warm-ups except for the yoga-ish warm-up to Kenpo X. I love the cool-downs and between-exercise stretches.
- I love the rep counter/timer at the bottom of the screen.
SPECIFIC WORKOUTS
- CHEST & BACK: This is my least favorite workout because I HATE push-ups! I do my absolute best, though, and hope to be much better after 90 days. I don't have a pull-up bar yet, because my house is over 100 yrs old and has very wide trim, so the Door Gym and similar items won't work. I have no room for the Power Tower and I'm concerned about banging my head with just a regular bar screwed into the door. In the meantime, I'm subbing overhand/underhand barbell rows, one-arm rows and pullovers. If/when I ever do get a bar, I'll probably like this workout less...
- PLYOMETRICS: An excellent, intense workout! A nice complement to the Imaxes.
- SHOULDERS & ARMS: This is my favorite workout so far. I adore it.
- YOGA X: I really like this one too! It's challenging, different from my other power yoga videos and Tony explains the moves very well. The 90-minute length can be tough to fit in but I've managed to so far and feel the length really adds to the challenge of the routine. The standing portion seems to go on forever! I wish the routine had more hip openers.
- LEGS & BACK: Fun! Fun! Fun! The variety of moves makes this workout a wonderful complement to the more traditional legwork in Cathe's workouts. I can see how some would miss using heavier weights but variety is a good thing!
- KENPO X: I like KPC WAY more than this. I did like it better the second time I used it and can see the benefit of using a less intense kickboxing workout in P90X's classic rotation. I'm pretty sure I'll start subbing KPC for this but I'll give it a few more tries first.
- X STRETCH: A wonderful, thorough, relaxing video. I did it on my rest day last week but won't get a chance to this week. I've also done the neck/shoulder stretches only and they really helped to ease tightness in those areas.
- AB RIPPER X: I call this "Hip Flexor X" because, man, do the hip flexors get a workout! Doing a lot of Pilates the past few months has helped me with my form tremendously. This is a great ab workout!
QUESTIONS:
- Any ideas for a pull-up bar?
- When in horse stance, are your feet supposed to be facing forward (like Tony and the kids) or should your feet be facing the same direction as your knees?
- How safe do you think diamond and dive-bomber push-ups are?
- Safety of upright rows?
I can't wait to get the Hardcore Series!