P90X: Workout 6 - Kenpo X

I hesitate to even call this one a workout.

If Yoga X is one of my two least favorite of the P90X workouts, this is the other one.  I mean don’t even break a sweat doing it.  I did Tae Bo pretty much every day for 2 years and Tony is no Billy Blanks.  In fact, I recently went back and re-did all of my old (I'm talking circa 2000) Tae Bo VHS workout tapes (before donating most of them) and was reminded again of how much better Tae Bo is than Kenpo X.  I had forgotten how fun Tae Bo is and you really sweat.

This workout is about an hour and, honestly, there isn’t much of anything that I like about it.  I don’t like the ‘saunders cycle’ (or however that is spelled) warm-up.  The workout itself – a combination of punches and kicks – is slow, repetitive, and boring.  I guess the cool down is okay – and the best part of this because getting to the cool downt means that it’s almost over.

I don’t think I’m being overly cranky about this, but Kenpo X is the weak link in the P90X program.  And you do it every week, including the recovery weeks.  At least with the Yoga there is some value to the stretching.  I’m not sure I would do this DVD again if you paid me.  Seriously, go buy a Tae Bo DVD and replace Kenpo with that.  You'll be glad you did.

P90X: Workout 5 - Legs and Back

This workout has grown on me over the years.

When I first started doing P90X, I didn’t love Legs and Back.  I honestly don’t know what it was, but I found myself rushing through the reps so I could say I did 15 reps but it was honestly more momentum than muscle.  Going back to this routine after a long-ish period of time though, gave me a new appreciation for it. 

There are still moves I don’t like – there is an exercise that I believe Tony calls the ‘Congdon Curl’ that can be done either in space or braced against a wall but you are hunched over with your elbow resting inside and slightly below your knee and then you do a curl.  I do it against the wall and it still hurts my back.  Tony is not always great at describing the correct form for the moves so it does pay to be careful.

The pull-ups, though, have some interesting variations which I do like and there are some dumbbell- or band- based back moves that are also good, though I think I still put too much arm into it.  I was also able to increase my dumbbell weight over the course of 90 days which made me feel good – evidence of increased strength.

There isn’t a move that seems to focus on the inner thigh, which bums me out as a woman in need of inner thigh exercises.  And I wish there was something that focused a bit on the glute muscles.  Overall, though, this is a good routine that lasts slightly less than 60 minutes.  However, it’s also an Ab Ripper X day, so that pushes the workout to a good hour and fifteen.

P90X: Workout 4 - Yoga X

Let’s just say, the man’s no Rodney Yee.

A lot has been written over the years about the P90X Yoga workout, from ‘it’s too long’ to ‘it’s too hard’.  I think the biggest problem is that Tony Horton is just not a great yoga teacher because, in part, he treats it like a competitive event.  Or, at the very least, like it should be a sweat-fest cardio workout.

The DVD is 90 minutes which is too long.  It’s about 45 minutes of ‘moving asanas’ and then 45 minutes of balance/stretching poses.  Though I have attended many yoga classes over the years, I certainly haven’t tried all of the types of yoga that are out there.  But, the structure of the first half of this routine doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen before either in a class or on a DVD.  For example, in every class I’ve ever been to, if the first move is Warrior I then the second move is Warrior II.  Tony has you do Warrior I and then for the second move, Warrior I again and then move from that into Warrior II.  This odd sequencing is one of the reasons the workout is overly long.  The balance/stretching poses have a better flow, though he really doesn’t seem to understand the purpose of Corpse pose at the end of the session.

The reality is that as fond of yoga as Tony seems to be, when these DVDs were made several years ago he wasn’t really qualified to either construct or lead this routine.  He doesn’t do much to describe/demonstrate correct form which makes a huge difference in yoga.  This is one of my two least favorite workouts of the P90X program.

For a much better yoga session, look for Rodney Yee’s “Yoga For Athletes”.  It’s an older video (circa 2000) – and I like it so much that I originally had it on VHS and later bought it again on DVD.  It’s 60 minutes, and really focuses on areas that get tight from sports or exercise.  I generally replace the P90X yoga with this one, though I’ll do P90X yoga every once in a while just to monitor my progress in doing Crane.

P90X: Workout 3 - Shoulders and Arms

Upper body again, along with Ab Ripper X.  At least there were a couple of recovery days after chest and back before doing this workout.

Shoulders and Arms moves between shoulder, bicep, and triceps exercises for an hour (time is also taken for a warm up and cool down).  Thankfully, there are some water breaks in there.  You need at least a couple sets of dumbbells for this, not just because of progress over time, but also because different exercises benefit from different weights due to varying angles and muscles used.  A mat is also good as there are some moves that are done lying down.

I like this DVD in part because I like the organization of these exercises – three exercises (each based on a number of reps rather than time), then repeat those three, then a water break, then start the next set of three.  It just appeals to the list-maker part of my soul.  This is another routine where I sometimes follow the warm up with the DVD, switch to live TV for the workout (following along with the fitness guide) and then back to the DVD for the cool down and that is doable because the exercises are based on rep count which I prefer for strength training.

Because almost all of these exercises are done ‘in space’ (as opposed to complete isolation like a machine in a gym) there is at least some recruitment of other body parts.  For example, I find my abs contracting for some of the exercises to keep my posture in line.  Tony is pretty good about describing correct form, but he has a bad habit of not talking about correct form until you’re half way through the set which strikes me as odd.

It becomes apparent pretty quickly in P90X that the strength training workouts are Tony Horton’s forte.  He varies the exercises and moves the workout along at a good pace so that it is challenging but not demoralizing.  There were exercises that I started the program with 5 lb. weights and ended the program with 12 lb. weights.   I count that as progress.

P90X: Workout 2 - Plyometrics

At least Tony Horton knows to do a warm up before doing high impact activity.

The P90X plyometrics workout is hard at first, but by the end of 90 days is definitely doable.  And let’s face it, compared to Insanity its – cute.  My jumps may not be as high as the guys in the video but I have a good 10 to 15 years on them so who cares and there is a real sense of accomplishment at being able to do the entire minute of ‘hot feet’.

The structure of the workout is particularly good for the beginning of the program in that the water breaks come regularly and you do need them.  There are sets of moves that get repeated so if one was a complete bust, you get to try it again.  My worst move is ‘rock star jumps’.  It may be psychological, but I just can’t get that one.  I also like that many of the moves have you moving around the floor as opposed to jumping in place.  That just keeps it more interesting.  However, don’t worry if you have carpet.  I do, and I’ve never had a problem or a moment of stress that I was going to catch on it and take a header into the mirrored closet door.

This is the hardest of the three cardio workouts in P90X and Tony recommends replacing it with CardioX is you are not ready for plyometrics.  I would say to give this a try first but don’t compete with the guys in the video.  Day 2 of the program this routine makes you sweat.  By day 90, probably not as much.  I liked this workout during the P90X program - it was challenging but not in a way that made me dread that it was "plyo day".

P90X: Workout 1.5 - Ab Ripper X

I think of this as workout number 1.5 because you do it after another workout - three times per week, on strength training (as opposed to cardio or yoga) days.

If I couldn’t lift my arms for 3 days after doing chest and back the first time, I was hunched over in pain for at least that long after doing this DVD.  One of the best things about this routine is getting better at it over time because it is hard.  Just plain hard.

At 16 minutes, including a cool-down, Ab Ripper is why the P90X informercials say the workouts are “about an hour a day”.  Adding this one makes it more like an hour and fifteen.  I don’t know why the time fudging annoys me so much, but it does.

Anyway, back to the workout.  Tony mentions at the start that there are 11 moves at 25 reps each.  I like the rep count as opposed to a time limit because it means that I can do it to live TV rather than following along with the DVD since (a) after a few times you know all the moves and (b) as anyone would, Tony gets stale after a while as you’re doing this 3 times a week for 10 weeks (you don’t do this during the recovery weeks).  Though not all the moves are created equal, different people will find different ones more challenging.  For example, one friend hates ‘heels to heaven’, basically a butt raise with legs straight in the air.  My personal nemesis is the V-rollup, a full sit-up followed by a roll back and a jack-knife sit-up.  I was way too proud of myself the first time I could do 25 of those without stopping.  Way too proud of myself.

One nice thing about the P90X program is that on the DVDs for days that include Ab Ripper X, this workout is included on that disc so you don’t have to switch discs in the player.  If that makes sense.  But, you also get a separate DVD with Ab Ripper on it.  To me, that shows some overall thoughtfulness and professionalism in putting the packaging together.

After a while, this routine does get easier, but it really is because your abs are stronger.  This one really does work.

P90X: Workout One - Chest and Back

Full Disclosure:  I could not do an unassisted pull up for love or money.  And I’m okay with that.

Chest and Back is the first workout in the P90X regime and there is no easing you into it.  The first time I did this DVD, in 2008, I could barely lift my arms for three days.

You will need a pull-up bar.  I have an Iron Gym, which could be the best $25.00 I’ve ever spent.  I also now use a pull-up assist (mine is from Lifeline, not the one sold by Beachbody).  The first few times I did the P90X program, I used a chair to assist with the pull-ups, but the newer pull-up assist products (basically a strap that hooks to the pull-up bar, that then has bands to provide the assist which attach to a strap for one foot) are MUCH better.  Until I had the assist, I didn’t realize how much I had been pushing up with my legs on the chair rather than pulling with my arms/back.

I also have some push-up stands (not the rotating ones) but frankly sometimes I use them and sometimes I don’t.  I’m not completely convinced they do that much for me.  Other useful equipment for this workout includes a mat and you do need a chair and a couple of dumbbells.

This DVD is structured with a warm-up, then the workout which alternates between push-ups and pull-ups, and ends with a cool down.   It’s about 50 minutes from start to finish and, other than being unable to wash my hair due to soreness after the first time, this is a great routine.  Push-ups and pull-ups are such essential gauges of fitness that doing this routine first almost acts as a ‘fit test’ so help monitor progress throughout the 90 days of this program.

Because this is the first disc in the P90X series, Tony Horton’s schtick is new and amusing.  After a while, though there were days when I would do the warm-up with the DVD, then switch back to live TV and do the exercises by following the outline in the fitness guide, and then going back to the DVD for the cool-down.  One very nice thing about the original P90X is the detailed exercise descriptions in the fitness guide which thus allows for that flexibility.

Chest and Back is a DVD I sometimes put in after I’ve been doing other workout programs because I just like the fundamental nature of the exercises.  Whether I’m good at them or not.