P90X......Anybody try it???

[McLovin]

I'm here. Finishing up week 7. (I restarted after a month of 'Lean'.) It's a bit of a grind, but I'm pushing play every morning at 5:15.

[Dr. FLK]

I'm here. Finishing up week 7. (I restarted after a month of 'Lean'.) It's a bit of a grind, but I'm pushing play every morning at 5:15.

How do you like it so far? Better/worse than Insanity?

[sdmarkakis]

Now that the weather isn't going to be as bad I'm going to start up again soon. Probably targetting the 15th for my first day and starting to change my diet hardcore. I gained back 10 pounds of the 35 I lost earlier this year.

[Dr. FLK]

Now that the weather isn't going to be as bad I'm going to start up again soon. Probably targetting the 15th for my first day and starting to change my diet hardcore. I gained back 10 pounds of the 35 I lost earlier this year.

What does the weather have to do with it? Do you do it outside?

[McLovin]

How do you like it so far? Better/worse than Insanity?

I like it because it's like 5,000 times easier!

I'm glad I did it the way I did. I think doing Insanity first is the way to go, and wouldn't recommend doing it in reverse. For one, doing it first makes P90X seem like a walk in the park. Also, unless you are a P90X Lean / 10-12 rep kind of person, you would probably lose a lot of muscle doing Insanity. And if you think PlyoX is hard, you will probably quit Insanity the first week. The second month Insanity warmups are harder than all of PlyoX.

Insanity is good to get fit and lose weight. It's hard though, because you have to eat smart and eat enough, as your body is put through massive stress. It's different in that it makes you lean.

P90X can make you stronger. I'm pretty happy with my results so far. I feel like I can use more cardio, but geez, there are only so many hours in the day.

I think Insanity is better at helping you lose weight and get super cardio fit. P90X is better at getting you strong - but (IMO) you have to follow the diet plan to lose weight.

I think they could make P90X better if they put in something more intense vs. Kenpo (which I never do). Also, they should replace Yoga with something like Insanity's Core Cardio and Balance. I try to keep P90X interesting and more challenging by substituting in Insanity bits on Yoga day and Kenpo day.

[Araqnid]

Tomorrow begins my last recovery week. The two things I took from the program was that I finally, after almost 23 years of existence, learned how to eat properly.

I ended up altering the program a lot. I got rid of Kenpo X. I split it up into muscle building (Days 1, 3, and 5), Cardio (2, 6), and Plyo (Day 4). On Cardio days I run about 5 miles in the morning, and in the evening do yoga. I really liked this routine and will probably go back to it sometime in the future.

As for results: I lost 16 lbs (158 -> 142), which is where I wanted to be, given that I'm pretty short. I went from 17.8% body fat down to 12.4%. I'm also noticeably bigger in the arms and legs. I wasn't able to get a six pack because I eased off of the diet near the end, but this is by far the best shape I've ever been in, so I'm happy.

I work on a military base, and the gym is free for civilians. I'm working with a trainer there now to create a program for me to start right after because I really really need something new right now.

[Dr. FLK]

I think they could make P90X better if they put in something more intense vs. Kenpo (which I never do). Also, they should replace Yoga with something like Insanity's Core Cardio and Balance. I try to keep P90X interesting and more challenging by substituting in Insanity bits on Yoga day and Kenpo day.

P90X+ takes care of some of this. Kenpo Cardio+ is much more intense than Kenpo. And the other strength workouts are more intense as well. I do something else on "Yoga Day"...I tried, but I just hate Yoga too much to do it.

When you say Insanity is so much harder, are you just referring to the cardio aspects?

[McLovin]

When you say Insanity is so much harder, are you just referring to the cardio aspects?

Cardio, physical, and mental. If you don't have all three straight, you're dead.

There is nothing really revolutionary about Insanity. It's just HIIT to the max, for 60 days. You do crazy 5-7 minute intervals 4-6 times, with 30 second breaks. And the things you do are hard, like 'jump knee tucks' (fast, not slow), burpees, plyo pushups, etc. It's all done at 90% heart rate or higher. And it's super high impact.

Something like a burpee is hard. (A burpee is going from standing, to plank, to pushup, back to feet, to jumping up vertically - over and over, as fast as you can.) Doing them when you are tired and at 90%+ heart rate is 'insane'. Physical strength will help you with the pushup, but that's only about 20% of it.

Don't get me wrong though - I don't necessarily think 'harder' is better or superior... It depends on your goals.

[Dr. FLK]

Just finished up Week 3 of P90X+. Now it's onto the first "recovery week". I'm looking forward to it for a little variety. The "Recovery week" uses back/bi, chest/shoulder/tri, core, and a few other P90X workouts. The next block (Weeks 5-7) is the same as the first block except the Intervals+ is replaced by P90X plyo. P90X+ is more intense for sure, but it also has less variety.

[McLovin]

Just finished up Week 3 of P90X+. Now it's onto the first "recovery week". I'm looking forward to it for a little variety. The "Recovery week" uses back/bi, chest/shoulder/tri, core, and a few other P90X workouts. The next block (Weeks 5-7) is the same as the first block except the Intervals+ is replaced by P90X plyo. P90X+ is more intense for sure, but it also has less variety.

I'm going to check it out for the next go round.

I'm definitely bored with P90X, and I don't want to stop when it's over. (Not bored from a challenge standpoint, just losing my motivation with the repetition.) I'm doing Insanity all week this week instead of the second recovery week, and it's really helped 'get my mind right.'

[Dr. FLK]

I'm going to check it out for the next go round.

I'm definitely bored with P90X, and I don't want to stop when it's over. (Not bored from a challenge standpoint, just losing my motivation with the repetition.) I'm doing Insanity all week this week instead of the second recovery week, and it's really helped 'get my mind right.'

If you're bored during P90X, you'll be bored during P90X+ IMO. There are really only 4 works + an Ab/Core workout (which I like much better than Ab Ripper X). The workout week is:

Upper + & Ab/Core+
Interval + & Ab/Core +
Total Body +
Yoga
Upper + & Ab/Core+
Kenpo +
Off

In the second block, the only difference is you swap the second day above with Plyo. So, it's basically the same thing. The workouts are challenging and move quickly though. But, I liked getting to the second block in P90X and switching things up a little more.

I also can't take Yoga any more and I've completely given up on it. I try to go for a run on Yoga days instead. It's official...I am not a yoga person, and I never ever will be. I also know this girl who is a "yoga person", and her "yoganess" has irritated me to the point of hating yoga. Yoga X has been retired forever.

[Dr. FLK]

So...I was having some serious pain in my shoulder, and I've taken a week off to let it rest. I had this problem before, and only rested for a day (conveniently an off day anyway) before starting again, and it came back. It feels a lot better now, and I'm going to start back up again on Saturday.

But, during this off week, I've been debating what I want to do when I start back up. I do like the P90X+ workouts, but I need a little more variety. I also want to mix in some more free weight training to try to add weight. I'm a tall-skinny guy looking to add some sort of weight. Since I started P90X, I've added about 12-15 lbs, but I'd still like to add more.

Does anyone have a good idea/suggestions for how to mix in P90X(+) workouts with free weights? I'd like to put together a nice workout program where I have everything scheduled out, since schedules/calendars work very well to keep me motivated.

Things I'd like to mix in:

Weights:
Chest/Back/Tri/Bi/Shoulders/Legs

P90X:
Plyo, Legs/Back, Back/Bi, Chest/Should/Tri, Shoulder/Arms, Back/Bi, Core
Ab Ripper X

P90X+:
Upper Body Plus, Total Body +, Kenpo Cardio +, Intervals +
ABs/Core +

[McLovin]

Just wanted to say that I finished the program. I guess I lost about 9 pounds, maybe more - but that was only once I started counting calories the last 8 weeks. Converted some mass as well. I'm down to 174 - from the 210 of 2 years ago when I finally said 'enough'. I took pictures and the biggest change was in my stomach and back.

I made some nice progress with the pullups. I'm now competent, and getting better. I doubled my pullup output from my first Legs and Back attempt to my last - going from about 40 to 80.

I'm backing off a tiny bit over the next few weeks. I'm going to keep doing the M-W-F resistance workouts, and do something like Plyo on Saturdays. On T-Th I'll do Ab Ripper X. That should give me a little break and help me recharge. I'm not tired of the M-W workouts at all.

I'm going to do that for 2-4 weeks, and then I'm going to try another Beach Body program called Rev Abs. I'm going to hybrid that with the P90X resistance workouts. It should make for more of a 'maintenance' schedule. P90X+ is still in the running too. We'll see.

[ccbird]

Well....I started the thread almost 2 years ago and been following the progress you guys have made in the program(s). I finally made the commitment start the program. I'm doing it with a friend in the hopes of keeping each other motivated.

I just borrowed the videos from my brother in law. Didn't get any of the books or nutrional plan that went along with it. I did have one question about the diet. I was planning on doing the obvious things like cutting the junk food, sodas, and just eating better in general. Is that good enough or should I get specific with a plan??

[McLovin]

Well....I started the thread almost 2 years ago and been following the progress you guys have made in the program(s). I finally made the commitment start the program. I'm doing it with a friend in the hopes of keeping each other motivated.

I just borrowed the videos from my brother in law. Didn't get any of the books or nutrional plan that went along with it. I did have one question about the diet. I was planning on doing the obvious things like cutting the junk food, sodas, and just eating better in general. Is that good enough or should I get specific with a plan??

I didnt see real results until I started counting calories. I'd recommend an iPod app like loseit or something.

I'm still doing a bit of a maintenance program. Up to 104 no chair pullups in Legs and Back.