I purchased the P90X DVD’s off of eBay for little more than a month ago. I’d seen the commercials several times and sifted though a load of reviews before I purchased the product. I do own a Bowflex Revolution, which I do like, but I wasn’t quite getting the results that I wanted. The P90X commercials talk about muscle confusion, which ironically does make good sense to me. I was told by a trainer once that, “Everything works, but nothing works for very long.” So buying a workout video (s) that incorporated a lot of different exercises and routines made sense to be-so I bought it.
Over the last month I’ve been “fairly” diligent in going through one of the videos a day. I do enjoy going through them, and I feel good after I get done. Below I’ve listed out what I feelto be the pros and cons of this approach to exercise:
PROS
I like host/trainer, Tony. He’s a fun, energetic guy. I can see why he’d do well as a trainer. He tries to keep everyone motivated and focused. I’ve heard people say that, “It feels like they are right there in my living room working out with me.” I am not sure I’d go that far, but he does help.I’ve read a number of reviews that point out the music is repetitive and boring. In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t throw this music on my iPod, but it’s not bad. Who the heck is there to listen to the music?!? If you read reviews like this, ignore them. I personally think the music is pretty good. These videos keep you moving, and they go quickly. Tony moves from oneexercise to the next in rapid succession, so you don’t have any time to complain your arms are tired or you don’t want to do this. Even though I felt like I was dragging a few times, I kept up with the video. Tony doesn’t give you much time to think, so the videos go quickly. It’s nice to not have to worry about what exercise you need to do next or when to take a water break; all of the videos have done this for you. And for the most part, there is ample time for breaks and getting your exercises done.I hate stretching but the videos always start out with a quick warm up and stretch and finish with a stretch. What I’ve found though is that even though I dislike stretching, follow the video and end up doing it anyway.Somehow the videos make stretching not so painfully boring to me. The videos use a couple of different people for every work room so you’re not just looking at a static shot. They cut between shots frequently and have a variety of angles, so you’re not just looking at one view the whole time.Everyone in the videos is working hard and having fun as well, which does help. The videos do follow a strict regiment, but Tony does incorporate some fun into it, so it’s not all work.
CONS
My right hip was injured playing college soccer, so there are exercises and even entire videos I just can’t do. They really can’t be faulted for this; it would happen with any exercise routine that wasn’t custom fit for me. Youhave to stay up with the videos (this is both good and bad), this guy moves from one exercise to another quickly, and I’ve found myself scrambling a little to keep up. I like this feature, but others might feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep up with the videos.The people working out along with Tony are his friends or people that have been through his program. Some of them are “TV friendly”, while others appear (at least to me) really arrogant (brunette with pony tail) or scared stiff of the camera.While I like Tony’s personality, I can see why he might get on some people’s nerves. He does talk a lot. I guess this works out since there are other people the videos that appear to be afraid to talk. You don’t need a lot ofequipment to do these workouts; however, you would need a pull up bar or some bands, which might be tricky to use depending on how your place is set up. If workout to these videos on the second floor be careful about ticking off the people below you. There’s a lot of moving around and jumping in some cases. Your spouse or neighbors might not appreciate this. The fitness book that the program comes with looks nice but doesn’t have a lot of value to it. I opened it once and put it on my shelf. The book’s organization was sketchy, I am not sure why they laid it out like they did. The nutrition guide was just about as helpful as the fitness book. This plan I am sure would help me lose weight-but I am not going to follow it.I’m sure I would lose weight if I ate berries and oats for the rest of my life, but it doesn’t mean I want to. Again, the design of the book is nice; I just see a lot of people wanting to follow this plan. Lastly, at the end of some (if not all) of the videos, the parent company likes to slip in advertisements for their back-end nutritional products. Pathetic. Tony’s even a little guilty of going a bit over the line “hawking” these products during the video. I came to work out guys-not to be pitched on something.
Bottom Line:
If you’ve got the space in your home, and you’re looking to incorporate some additional workouts into your routine, I do recommend this program. I enjoy the variety of programs the setcontains, and while Tony talks too much but he keeps things fun and motivating. I haven’t lost an incredible amount of weight in the first month, but in all fairness, I am not following the “aggressive” diet they’ve laid out … and I’ve been known to eat pizza once in a while! I have gotten stronger by working out with these videos, and I have lost some weight. Because I am not following the exact plan it will just take me longer to achieve my goals.
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