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.