FiddleFit
Cathlete
P90X Results, Lessons Learned, and General Comments by Sandra (FiddleFit)
Today is the last day of my first P90X rotation. I thought I'd give an essay assessment of my experience with the program because people here seem so interested in it, and in determining if it's right for them. I'm also interested in hearing any feedback people might have, and whether other P90X graduates have similar or different opinions.
Ninety days ago I started the Classic “strength” rotation, which is centered on heavy split lifting, with cardio as the side dish. This was the complete opposite of the approach I’ve been taking for the last few years. Yes, I was an experienced Cathe lifter, and had seen great results from doing her GS Series, SH Series, and Pyramids, primarily. But even though I was doing all this lifting, I was still doing 5-6 days a week of cardio. On Day One of The X, I considered myself an advanced exerciser and in better-than-average condition. I was pretty much at a weight that I felt comfortable with, although still soft in the middle from my last pregnancy. And of course, there were those 5 (okay 10) vanity pounds…..
MY PURPOSE AND MY GOALS
My reasons for choosing to do P90X were multiple:
1. After years of doing the same thing, and getting the same results, I wanted to change things up and see if I could get different results. Primarily, I wanted to test the validity of the argument that heavy lifting, less cardio, and clean eating will lower body fat. P90X Classic strength rotation is designed perfectly for that.
2. So many people on Cathe’s forums have done P90X and posted such positive experiences with it, that I was curious to see if it was “all that”, and if it was possible for me to achieve the same thing.
3. BeachBody had a sale on P90X.
My goals, therefore, were:
1. reduce my bodyfat.
2. develop more muscle definition, particularly in my core.
3. do something different for a while (ie., take a vacation from Cathe).
4. NOT get fat! The increased calorie intake and less cardio had me very, very worried that I was going to put on fat pounds. I’ve worked so hard over the years doing the low-calorie, high intensity cardio to get and keep myself at my goal weight, that I was frightened that it would all come piling back on if I did the exact opposite for 3 months!
THE PROCESS
The process is hard. Three months is a long time to use the same 11 workouts, especially when you have all the variety offered by Cathe and other quality video instructors at your fingertips. Sticking with only the P90X workouts for 90 days is an act of self discipline in itself. Many people find just doing 6 workouts a week an act of self-discipline. Then, when you restrict yourself from using all your old favourites, it gets even harder. I’m very proud to say that I stuck with the program as written for 12 of the 13 weeks. The 13th week I mixed things up, but it was a “recovery” week, and I figured I’d earned the right to do what I want by that point. I still used some of the P90X workouts, and for the workouts I substituted, I stayed with ones that are similar in nature to what the day required.
If you’re unfamiliar with the structure of the P90X process, there are three phases. In Phases One and Two, you work hard for 3 weeks, then do a “recovery” week. In the Third Phase, you work hard for 4 weeks, then take a 5th recovery week. Recovery weeks are not “easy”, they’re just different. You don’t do any heavy lifting. The theory is your body needs that week to rest and repair, so you come back stronger for the next phase. Heck, I believe it; it seems to work.
There was a group of Cathe-ites who began their first P90X rotation around the same time, last November/December. We began our own daily check in. A few disappeared over the course of the 3 months, but most stuck it out. We unanimously feel that without the support of each other, and the accountability of the check in, we would not have persisted with the whole 90 days. For those of you considering doing P90X, there are a couple of points where motivation typically starts to flag. Knowing about that ahead of time can help you get through them, and on to the other side.
MY CRISIS POINTS (there are always crisis points)
During Phase I the novelty of the program kept the moment going, although little alarm bells went off at certain points as I adjusted to such a different workout approach. My motivation allowed me to ignore the bells and stick with the program. Some of the workouts were harder for me than I’d anticipated, which made me begin to question my perception of being in great shape to begin with. I had to adjust my attitude and accept that moving to a new level of fitness meant moving out of my comfort zone and genuinely challenging myself; these workouts offered me a whole new means by which to challenge myself, and that’s the point of it all. I got to the first recovery week still unable to do one unassisted chin up and ready for a break. Recovery week was not the easy ride I was anticipating. CoreSynergistics is tough. YogaX is long. You do both of them twice in one week. At the end of the week I was missing the heavy weight lifting, the core burn of AbRipperX, and nervously, excitedly anticipating the new workouts that are introduced in Phase 2.
Phase 2 offered a refreshing break from the phase 1 upper body workouts, but the rest of the rotation stayed the same. Once I adjusted to the new workouts, I realized that I was still not even half way through, and the rotation was getting predictable, and therefore, boring. I was quoting along with Tony in many of the workouts. I knew each workout well enough to know what to dread. If it were not for the check-in group, I would very easily have gone running back to Cathe at this point – for the variety! I decided not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, however. My solution was to change my rotation from the Classic, to the Doubles. This is the same as the Classic rotation, but a 43 minute intermediate cardio workout (CardioX) is added 3 times a week in Phase 2, and 4 times a week in Phase 3. I decided to add 3 Cathe steady state cardio workouts in place of CardioX. This did the trick. I don’t think I physically needed the extra cardio, but I needed it mentally. Some people straight out sub P90X workouts with Cathe (or other videos), to make the program fit their circumstances. I chose to remain with the Classic rotation exactly as written, but just add Cathe for the fun and variety factor. She was my “treat” for eating my “veggies” It worked for me. The second recovery week felt better than the first, but by the end of it I was still itching to get back to the “real” workouts. I guess that’s the point of it, right? It seems to work!
Phase 3 was perhaps the most challenging phase, but the easiest for motivation. I was familiar with all of the workouts (the Phase 1 workouts even seemed like “old friends”!), and had managed to see strength improvements in Phase 2. This included the start of a few unassisted chin ups here and there. In Phase 3, all of the strength workouts are used in 2x2week rotations. This added variety helped the weeks fly by. I barely noticed that I’d done an extra week. At the start of this phase I had made strength gains all around, and was increasing the number of unassisted chin ups. By the end of it, I was lifting heavier than I’d ever lifted, could do the advanced versions of all of the AbRipperX moves, and in my last weight workout I did 28 unassisted chin ups, scattered throughout the workout. I can now do sets of 6 consecutively. I even managed to do 2 unassisted pull ups. For the last recovery week, which I finished today, I’d had enough of following someone else’s plan, and decided to do my own thing. I kept to the spirit of the week by not lifting heavy, stretching lots, and doing yoga a couple of times. I pulled out some of my Cathe favourites for a few days, but also did half of the P90X workouts called for by the rotation. Day 90 has finally arrived, and I’m thrilled to be sitting here sharing this experience with you.
THE RESULTS
Did I see results? Yes! Were they the ones I was hoping for? Only a little. There is no doubt that I have gained muscle. My arms have more definition, the muscles are larger, my core is more muscular and defined, and I’m as happy as I’ve ever been with my lower body (but Cathe’s lower body workouts do an even better job, for me). I did BodyMax2 in its entirety yesterday and I have not lost my cardio conditioning, I can feel how my stronger core is helping me execute cardio moves better, and was able to match Cathe in the upper body weights pound for pound. I wasn’t able to do that before The X. So, there’s been real strength gains. The core portion of that workout was also relatively easy. ARX just works so good!
I was not able to measure my bodyfat percent at the start of the program, so I don’t know whether there was a downward effect on that. According to the Omron reader at the grocery store yesterday, it is 21.5%, which is pretty good. Actually, for the kid who grew up being the “chubby girl”, it’s great! Being 36 and having 2 children in my 30s, I can be very happy with it, in fact. I know that visually I appear more muscular and defined. All of my clothes still fit; I haven’t changed a size up or down.
My weight is a half-pound heavier than when I started. So, while I’m secretly disappointed that I didn’t lose a few pounds (old habits die hard), I’m super thrilled that I didn’t gain fat!! As per the program suggestions, I did not attempt to go into a calorie deficit for the past 3 months, and my cardio was much less than it had been. The lack of fat gain with this different, kinder approach to shaping my body has liberated me from the tyranny of the traditional low-calorie/high cardio approach. This is perhaps the most beneficial result I have received from this program, and the whole experiment was worth it, just to learn that.
When trying to understand why I didn’t see more change, I have a few theories that all probably contribute to some degree: 1) I didn’t have as far to go as someone else who is completely new to 6-day a week rotations and heavy weight training, as I’d been doing that for years with Cathe; 2) genetically I’m close to my own personal “best of show.” We can only hope to do our best with what we’ve got, and then we have to accept the things we cannot change. I did indeed do my best, and I’m going to forget the rest; and 3) my best did not include following the P90X eating plan.
THE EATING PLAN!!!
One of the most common question I see asked about P90X is whether you have to follow the eating plan. My own opinion? Depends on the results you want. For Phase 1 I followed the eating plan to the letter, including over Christmas and New Year’s. By the end of Phase 1, I was more stressed out from trying to stick with the eating plan then by the workouts. The lack of carbs didn’t seem to affect my physical performance as much as my mental health. I was losing my ability to concentrate, was tired a lot of the time, slipping into depression and feeling a lot of anxiety. I was very unhappy. I already knew how to “eat clean”, and follow a nutrient-dense eating style. My biggest problem with eating is not in getting enough of the right foods; it’s allowing too many “treat” foods into the day. That’s still my problem, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel motivated enough to give those up. I figure there’s got to be a balance between how deprived you’re willing to feel and how great you feel when you reach the look you want. If it feels untenably difficult to reach or maintain a certain body shape, so difficult that the rest of life becomes unenjoyable due to the stress of focusing so hard on the physical, then it’s not worth being a few pounds lighter or leaner. This is my own opinion, but frankly, that’s the only one that’s worth anything to me when it comes to making these decisions for myself. I’m not talking about a situation where one has to lose weight or modify their diet for the good of their health. That’s different. I’m talking about going to extremes for the sake of a few vanity pounds. I’m just not willing to take it that far for something that is ultimately quite meaningless in my life. So there you go. If you truly want to look like a P90X before-and-after photo, you probably need to be quite strict (and restrictive) in your eating. That doesn’t necessarily mean following their diet, if you have a plan that works better for you. If you just follow the exercise portion of the program, but allow too many indulgences in your diet, you’ll probably see results, but they won’t be dramatic. If you try to do P90X on a really low-calorie diet, you will burn out very quickly and will not be able to finish the program. You definitely need to eat with this program. Just not lobster bisque
THE WORKOUTS
Chest & Back – love the push pull method using mostly body weight for resistance. Very effective! This workout cured me of my aversion to push ups, because you do so many that they stopped feeling like such a “big deal.”
PlyoX – deceptively easy the first time through. Works as a cardio and a lower body workout. Moves very quickly; over before you know it.
Shoulders & Arms – commonly the most favourite strength workout, and for good reason. Provides a super pump in the arms, and has no pull/chin ups or push ups.
YogaX – not a favourite for many; commonly substituted with other yogas. I stuck with it for the whole program, and saw substantial gains in flexibility, leg endurance, and the workout overall became much easier. It’s a key part of the lower-body shaping.
Legs & Back – easier than Cathe lower body workouts (IMO), but still works the lower body quite well. It’s a freestyle approach, I think: endurance-focused, light weights used in only a few places. The hard part of this workout is the 8 rounds of pull/chin ups he throws in for good measure!
Ab Ripper X – a gem. The most effective 16 minutes of core work I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it’s done 3 times a week in all three phases, so it gets boring real quick. If you get over the boredom factor (it’s only 16 mins after all!), and just do it, it can do magical things to your core.
KenpoX – a fun, low impact kickboxing workout that can give you a great sweat once you figure out how to keep the core engaged throughout. I consider it an intermediate cardio. It has a stretch segment right at the start that I really don’t like; my legs aren’t warm enough for that yet. I subbed my own stretching for some of it, and that worked fine. For the second half of the program I added Cathe’s KickMax Blast Challenge at the end of this workout, and loved it.
XStretch – Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Another gem. 60 minutes of pure deliciousness.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps – a very busy workout that supersets exercises for these three areas. I never knew there were so many ways to do push ups!!! Again, a very effective workout, but I wouldn’t really call it fun
Back & Biceps – Yes, this workout gives you your ticket to the “gun” show. Wow. Alternating heavy weights for the biceps with pull/chin ups is exhausting on the arms, but gets the job done right. Another high quality weight workout, for sure.
CoreSynergistics – This is used only in the recovery weeks with the Classic rotation, and you do it twice that week. It’s hard! At week 13 there were still a couple of moves I couldn’t do at the level of Tony and the gang. I can’t say I find it very fun, but that’s probably because I don’t want to work that hard during a “recovery” week. It’s actually a terrific workout that combines cardio and core work in a functional-fitness approach.
CardioX – Did it once (it’s not used in the Classic rotation). Didn’t love it; didn’t hate it. It’s just more of the same as PlyoX, CoreSyn, and KenpoX, literally. It’s a blend of small parts of those three workouts. Since it didn’t offer me the variety I was looking for, I left it on the shelf.
Now that I’m done the rotation, for future use I can see myself using the upper body weight workouts. They suggest for maintenance that you only need to do the first round of each workout (essentially half the workout). I like that idea. I’d like to keep doing chin/pull ups for sure, as they work the back like nothing else I’ve ever tried. Great for the core, too! I’ll also definitely use KenpoX, ARX, and YogaX....in a month or so when I don’t recall them all in such vivid detail. XStretch is something I’ll probably continue to use with DH every Sunday, as he’s currently doing a P90 rotation and is doing this on his rest day.
Legs & Back just didn’t give me the burn I was looking for, so I’ll probably put this one away and use Cathe’s in the future. PlyoX is probably back on the shelf for a long while, too. I know plyo is good for me, but I think Cathe makes it so much more fun in her IMAXes and their blasty-cousins. I like choreographed intensity better than a grocery-list approach (do this for 30 secs, then do this, then do this…..now do it all again!).
YEAH, BUT WHAT'S TONY LIKE?
He he. He’s a crack up. What can I say? I like him! I have a lot of respect for his fitness knowledge, even if he is just a frustrated actor in love with another man’s wife He truly appears to be enjoying himself in these workouts. He often becomes competitive with the other members, which is fun to watch. He also reiterates frequently that this is about doing YOUR best, and forgetting the rest. He removes the pressure to meet a certain objective standard, while still baiting you to work harder than you did before. I’m still waiting for him to come to my house (I did 30, Tony!!)
SO, WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?
As of right now, I think that I will do another P90X rotation, but I will modify much more to suit my own preferences. I’ll do the weight workouts as written, but substitute the cardios and YogaX when I need variety. I love YogaX, but cannot do any workout with that much frequency. The same with ARX. Now that I’m able to do both of those workouts at the advanced levels, I need new challenges in those departments to keep it fresh. I don’t regret doing them so repetitively the first time through, as that’s what got me to the advanced level.
This essay assessment of P90X is like a fingerprint, as are all experiences. Others may have similar opinions, or completely different. I think the assessment of the program depends on your goals and expectations in the first place. Part way through the program I changed my expectations, and that’s what allowed me to stick with it. I’m very satisfied that I did it, and have to say I enjoyed the “ride” with some of my fellow Cathe-ites. I’m most grateful for gaining the knowledge that getting fit doesn’t have to be about going longer or harder, or require depressing deprivation. I feel like I learned a new skill along the way, and am in a better position to go back to enjoying my old favourites with a fresh approach.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!
SandraX
Today is the last day of my first P90X rotation. I thought I'd give an essay assessment of my experience with the program because people here seem so interested in it, and in determining if it's right for them. I'm also interested in hearing any feedback people might have, and whether other P90X graduates have similar or different opinions.
Ninety days ago I started the Classic “strength” rotation, which is centered on heavy split lifting, with cardio as the side dish. This was the complete opposite of the approach I’ve been taking for the last few years. Yes, I was an experienced Cathe lifter, and had seen great results from doing her GS Series, SH Series, and Pyramids, primarily. But even though I was doing all this lifting, I was still doing 5-6 days a week of cardio. On Day One of The X, I considered myself an advanced exerciser and in better-than-average condition. I was pretty much at a weight that I felt comfortable with, although still soft in the middle from my last pregnancy. And of course, there were those 5 (okay 10) vanity pounds…..
MY PURPOSE AND MY GOALS
My reasons for choosing to do P90X were multiple:
1. After years of doing the same thing, and getting the same results, I wanted to change things up and see if I could get different results. Primarily, I wanted to test the validity of the argument that heavy lifting, less cardio, and clean eating will lower body fat. P90X Classic strength rotation is designed perfectly for that.
2. So many people on Cathe’s forums have done P90X and posted such positive experiences with it, that I was curious to see if it was “all that”, and if it was possible for me to achieve the same thing.
3. BeachBody had a sale on P90X.
My goals, therefore, were:
1. reduce my bodyfat.
2. develop more muscle definition, particularly in my core.
3. do something different for a while (ie., take a vacation from Cathe).
4. NOT get fat! The increased calorie intake and less cardio had me very, very worried that I was going to put on fat pounds. I’ve worked so hard over the years doing the low-calorie, high intensity cardio to get and keep myself at my goal weight, that I was frightened that it would all come piling back on if I did the exact opposite for 3 months!
THE PROCESS
The process is hard. Three months is a long time to use the same 11 workouts, especially when you have all the variety offered by Cathe and other quality video instructors at your fingertips. Sticking with only the P90X workouts for 90 days is an act of self discipline in itself. Many people find just doing 6 workouts a week an act of self-discipline. Then, when you restrict yourself from using all your old favourites, it gets even harder. I’m very proud to say that I stuck with the program as written for 12 of the 13 weeks. The 13th week I mixed things up, but it was a “recovery” week, and I figured I’d earned the right to do what I want by that point. I still used some of the P90X workouts, and for the workouts I substituted, I stayed with ones that are similar in nature to what the day required.
If you’re unfamiliar with the structure of the P90X process, there are three phases. In Phases One and Two, you work hard for 3 weeks, then do a “recovery” week. In the Third Phase, you work hard for 4 weeks, then take a 5th recovery week. Recovery weeks are not “easy”, they’re just different. You don’t do any heavy lifting. The theory is your body needs that week to rest and repair, so you come back stronger for the next phase. Heck, I believe it; it seems to work.
There was a group of Cathe-ites who began their first P90X rotation around the same time, last November/December. We began our own daily check in. A few disappeared over the course of the 3 months, but most stuck it out. We unanimously feel that without the support of each other, and the accountability of the check in, we would not have persisted with the whole 90 days. For those of you considering doing P90X, there are a couple of points where motivation typically starts to flag. Knowing about that ahead of time can help you get through them, and on to the other side.
MY CRISIS POINTS (there are always crisis points)
During Phase I the novelty of the program kept the moment going, although little alarm bells went off at certain points as I adjusted to such a different workout approach. My motivation allowed me to ignore the bells and stick with the program. Some of the workouts were harder for me than I’d anticipated, which made me begin to question my perception of being in great shape to begin with. I had to adjust my attitude and accept that moving to a new level of fitness meant moving out of my comfort zone and genuinely challenging myself; these workouts offered me a whole new means by which to challenge myself, and that’s the point of it all. I got to the first recovery week still unable to do one unassisted chin up and ready for a break. Recovery week was not the easy ride I was anticipating. CoreSynergistics is tough. YogaX is long. You do both of them twice in one week. At the end of the week I was missing the heavy weight lifting, the core burn of AbRipperX, and nervously, excitedly anticipating the new workouts that are introduced in Phase 2.
Phase 2 offered a refreshing break from the phase 1 upper body workouts, but the rest of the rotation stayed the same. Once I adjusted to the new workouts, I realized that I was still not even half way through, and the rotation was getting predictable, and therefore, boring. I was quoting along with Tony in many of the workouts. I knew each workout well enough to know what to dread. If it were not for the check-in group, I would very easily have gone running back to Cathe at this point – for the variety! I decided not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, however. My solution was to change my rotation from the Classic, to the Doubles. This is the same as the Classic rotation, but a 43 minute intermediate cardio workout (CardioX) is added 3 times a week in Phase 2, and 4 times a week in Phase 3. I decided to add 3 Cathe steady state cardio workouts in place of CardioX. This did the trick. I don’t think I physically needed the extra cardio, but I needed it mentally. Some people straight out sub P90X workouts with Cathe (or other videos), to make the program fit their circumstances. I chose to remain with the Classic rotation exactly as written, but just add Cathe for the fun and variety factor. She was my “treat” for eating my “veggies”
It worked for me. The second recovery week felt better than the first, but by the end of it I was still itching to get back to the “real” workouts. I guess that’s the point of it, right? It seems to work!Phase 3 was perhaps the most challenging phase, but the easiest for motivation. I was familiar with all of the workouts (the Phase 1 workouts even seemed like “old friends”!), and had managed to see strength improvements in Phase 2. This included the start of a few unassisted chin ups here and there. In Phase 3, all of the strength workouts are used in 2x2week rotations. This added variety helped the weeks fly by. I barely noticed that I’d done an extra week. At the start of this phase I had made strength gains all around, and was increasing the number of unassisted chin ups. By the end of it, I was lifting heavier than I’d ever lifted, could do the advanced versions of all of the AbRipperX moves, and in my last weight workout I did 28 unassisted chin ups, scattered throughout the workout. I can now do sets of 6 consecutively. I even managed to do 2 unassisted pull ups. For the last recovery week, which I finished today, I’d had enough of following someone else’s plan, and decided to do my own thing. I kept to the spirit of the week by not lifting heavy, stretching lots, and doing yoga a couple of times. I pulled out some of my Cathe favourites for a few days, but also did half of the P90X workouts called for by the rotation. Day 90 has finally arrived, and I’m thrilled to be sitting here sharing this experience with you.
THE RESULTS
Did I see results? Yes! Were they the ones I was hoping for? Only a little. There is no doubt that I have gained muscle. My arms have more definition, the muscles are larger, my core is more muscular and defined, and I’m as happy as I’ve ever been with my lower body (but Cathe’s lower body workouts do an even better job, for me). I did BodyMax2 in its entirety yesterday and I have not lost my cardio conditioning, I can feel how my stronger core is helping me execute cardio moves better, and was able to match Cathe in the upper body weights pound for pound. I wasn’t able to do that before The X. So, there’s been real strength gains. The core portion of that workout was also relatively easy. ARX just works so good!
I was not able to measure my bodyfat percent at the start of the program, so I don’t know whether there was a downward effect on that. According to the Omron reader at the grocery store yesterday, it is 21.5%, which is pretty good. Actually, for the kid who grew up being the “chubby girl”, it’s great! Being 36 and having 2 children in my 30s, I can be very happy with it, in fact. I know that visually I appear more muscular and defined. All of my clothes still fit; I haven’t changed a size up or down.
My weight is a half-pound heavier than when I started. So, while I’m secretly disappointed that I didn’t lose a few pounds (old habits die hard), I’m super thrilled that I didn’t gain fat!! As per the program suggestions, I did not attempt to go into a calorie deficit for the past 3 months, and my cardio was much less than it had been. The lack of fat gain with this different, kinder approach to shaping my body has liberated me from the tyranny of the traditional low-calorie/high cardio approach. This is perhaps the most beneficial result I have received from this program, and the whole experiment was worth it, just to learn that.
When trying to understand why I didn’t see more change, I have a few theories that all probably contribute to some degree: 1) I didn’t have as far to go as someone else who is completely new to 6-day a week rotations and heavy weight training, as I’d been doing that for years with Cathe; 2) genetically I’m close to my own personal “best of show.” We can only hope to do our best with what we’ve got, and then we have to accept the things we cannot change. I did indeed do my best, and I’m going to forget the rest; and 3) my best did not include following the P90X eating plan.
THE EATING PLAN!!!
One of the most common question I see asked about P90X is whether you have to follow the eating plan. My own opinion? Depends on the results you want. For Phase 1 I followed the eating plan to the letter, including over Christmas and New Year’s. By the end of Phase 1, I was more stressed out from trying to stick with the eating plan then by the workouts. The lack of carbs didn’t seem to affect my physical performance as much as my mental health. I was losing my ability to concentrate, was tired a lot of the time, slipping into depression and feeling a lot of anxiety. I was very unhappy. I already knew how to “eat clean”, and follow a nutrient-dense eating style. My biggest problem with eating is not in getting enough of the right foods; it’s allowing too many “treat” foods into the day. That’s still my problem, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel motivated enough to give those up. I figure there’s got to be a balance between how deprived you’re willing to feel and how great you feel when you reach the look you want. If it feels untenably difficult to reach or maintain a certain body shape, so difficult that the rest of life becomes unenjoyable due to the stress of focusing so hard on the physical, then it’s not worth being a few pounds lighter or leaner. This is my own opinion, but frankly, that’s the only one that’s worth anything to me when it comes to making these decisions for myself. I’m not talking about a situation where one has to lose weight or modify their diet for the good of their health. That’s different. I’m talking about going to extremes for the sake of a few vanity pounds. I’m just not willing to take it that far for something that is ultimately quite meaningless in my life. So there you go. If you truly want to look like a P90X before-and-after photo, you probably need to be quite strict (and restrictive) in your eating. That doesn’t necessarily mean following their diet, if you have a plan that works better for you. If you just follow the exercise portion of the program, but allow too many indulgences in your diet, you’ll probably see results, but they won’t be dramatic. If you try to do P90X on a really low-calorie diet, you will burn out very quickly and will not be able to finish the program. You definitely need to eat with this program. Just not lobster bisque
THE WORKOUTS
Chest & Back – love the push pull method using mostly body weight for resistance. Very effective! This workout cured me of my aversion to push ups, because you do so many that they stopped feeling like such a “big deal.”
PlyoX – deceptively easy the first time through. Works as a cardio and a lower body workout. Moves very quickly; over before you know it.
Shoulders & Arms – commonly the most favourite strength workout, and for good reason. Provides a super pump in the arms, and has no pull/chin ups or push ups.
YogaX – not a favourite for many; commonly substituted with other yogas. I stuck with it for the whole program, and saw substantial gains in flexibility, leg endurance, and the workout overall became much easier. It’s a key part of the lower-body shaping.
Legs & Back – easier than Cathe lower body workouts (IMO), but still works the lower body quite well. It’s a freestyle approach, I think: endurance-focused, light weights used in only a few places. The hard part of this workout is the 8 rounds of pull/chin ups he throws in for good measure!
Ab Ripper X – a gem. The most effective 16 minutes of core work I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it’s done 3 times a week in all three phases, so it gets boring real quick. If you get over the boredom factor (it’s only 16 mins after all!), and just do it, it can do magical things to your core.
KenpoX – a fun, low impact kickboxing workout that can give you a great sweat once you figure out how to keep the core engaged throughout. I consider it an intermediate cardio. It has a stretch segment right at the start that I really don’t like; my legs aren’t warm enough for that yet. I subbed my own stretching for some of it, and that worked fine. For the second half of the program I added Cathe’s KickMax Blast Challenge at the end of this workout, and loved it.
XStretch – Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Another gem. 60 minutes of pure deliciousness.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps – a very busy workout that supersets exercises for these three areas. I never knew there were so many ways to do push ups!!! Again, a very effective workout, but I wouldn’t really call it fun
Back & Biceps – Yes, this workout gives you your ticket to the “gun” show. Wow. Alternating heavy weights for the biceps with pull/chin ups is exhausting on the arms, but gets the job done right. Another high quality weight workout, for sure.
CoreSynergistics – This is used only in the recovery weeks with the Classic rotation, and you do it twice that week. It’s hard! At week 13 there were still a couple of moves I couldn’t do at the level of Tony and the gang. I can’t say I find it very fun, but that’s probably because I don’t want to work that hard during a “recovery” week. It’s actually a terrific workout that combines cardio and core work in a functional-fitness approach.
CardioX – Did it once (it’s not used in the Classic rotation). Didn’t love it; didn’t hate it. It’s just more of the same as PlyoX, CoreSyn, and KenpoX, literally. It’s a blend of small parts of those three workouts. Since it didn’t offer me the variety I was looking for, I left it on the shelf.
Now that I’m done the rotation, for future use I can see myself using the upper body weight workouts. They suggest for maintenance that you only need to do the first round of each workout (essentially half the workout). I like that idea. I’d like to keep doing chin/pull ups for sure, as they work the back like nothing else I’ve ever tried. Great for the core, too! I’ll also definitely use KenpoX, ARX, and YogaX....in a month or so when I don’t recall them all in such vivid detail. XStretch is something I’ll probably continue to use with DH every Sunday, as he’s currently doing a P90 rotation and is doing this on his rest day.
Legs & Back just didn’t give me the burn I was looking for, so I’ll probably put this one away and use Cathe’s in the future. PlyoX is probably back on the shelf for a long while, too. I know plyo is good for me, but I think Cathe makes it so much more fun in her IMAXes and their blasty-cousins. I like choreographed intensity better than a grocery-list approach (do this for 30 secs, then do this, then do this…..now do it all again!).
YEAH, BUT WHAT'S TONY LIKE?
He he. He’s a crack up. What can I say? I like him! I have a lot of respect for his fitness knowledge, even if he is just a frustrated actor in love with another man’s wife
He truly appears to be enjoying himself in these workouts. He often becomes competitive with the other members, which is fun to watch. He also reiterates frequently that this is about doing YOUR best, and forgetting the rest. He removes the pressure to meet a certain objective standard, while still baiting you to work harder than you did before. I’m still waiting for him to come to my house (I did 30, Tony!!)SO, WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?
As of right now, I think that I will do another P90X rotation, but I will modify much more to suit my own preferences. I’ll do the weight workouts as written, but substitute the cardios and YogaX when I need variety. I love YogaX, but cannot do any workout with that much frequency. The same with ARX. Now that I’m able to do both of those workouts at the advanced levels, I need new challenges in those departments to keep it fresh. I don’t regret doing them so repetitively the first time through, as that’s what got me to the advanced level.
This essay assessment of P90X is like a fingerprint, as are all experiences. Others may have similar opinions, or completely different. I think the assessment of the program depends on your goals and expectations in the first place. Part way through the program I changed my expectations, and that’s what allowed me to stick with it. I’m very satisfied that I did it, and have to say I enjoyed the “ride” with some of my fellow Cathe-ites. I’m most grateful for gaining the knowledge that getting fit doesn’t have to be about going longer or harder, or require depressing deprivation. I feel like I learned a new skill along the way, and am in a better position to go back to enjoying my old favourites with a fresh approach.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!
SandraX
