I'll start with an overview of some of the P90X materials. I should begin this overview by stating that I did not buy the materials I got directly from the company that produces them, so I did not get all the materials they discuss in the TV advertisements. Instead, I found some used materials on Amazon which I bought for about a third of the price these materials are advertised for in the P90X infomercials.
What I did get was the set of 13 DVD's. What I didn't get was any of the literature that comes with the DVD's. I should mention that much of the literature can be found online if you're familiar with using file-sharing software or using thepiratebay. Now that I've viewed segments from all the DVD's and have read some of the literature I managed to find, I can offer an initial overview and assessment of the program.
So, what is P90X? It's essentially an exercise regime and diet set up for following for a 90 day period. The diet appears to be a low fat high protein diet--but I won't be able to say much more about the diet. I don't need to lose any weight--if anything I could stand to gain a few pounds--so the diet is a very secondary concern for me. The regime involves a mixture of calisthenics with some use of weights (dumbbells) and/or fitness bands. It requires very little in the way of equipment and can therefore be done in just about anyone's home. But why, you may be wondering, is this program designed for a 90 day period?
Before answering that question I'll provide a topical description of the DVD's. The 13 DVD's vary somewhat in length owing to the fact that some of the material is "fluff" while other material is repeated.
The fluff I mention is most evident on the first DVD, which is really only a motivational pep talk--no exercises are demonstrated there. The personal trainer who leads all the sessions (Tony Horton) simply sits or stands and talks--about the exercise regime, diet, and possible effects they can have--on this DVD. The fluff on the other DVD's consists in advertisements for nutrition supplements and/or personal training services. The ads are limited to the end portion of the DVD and do not occur on all the DVD's.
The rest of the DVD's show workout sessions where 4 or 5 participants (including Tony Horton) demonstrate a series of workouts that make up the P90X regime. Most of the DVD's offer a series of workouts for certain parts of the body--chest and back, shoulders and arms, abs, etc. Some of the DVD's are a bit more generic and show things like stretching or yoga, or demonstrate aerobics. Most of these sessions are right around one hour in length, though some of the DVD's are a bit longer owing to the presence of some repeated material.
The repeated material is a bit baffling to me. The material in question is called "Ab Ripper." It is baffling for a few reasons. First of all, in the Ab Ripper session Tony tells us these abdominal exercises are not something that need to be done every day. In fact as I recall, he recommends they be done once per week. The short Ab Ripper session (about 15 minutes) has its own DVD--number 13--but it is also tacked on at the end of several of the other DVD's. I can't quite figure out why this short session is added to the ends of some of the other, longer sessions.
Perhaps having the full selection of literature that comes with this regimen would reveal the logic behind that. But based on the understanding of the regime I've gotten from viewing parts of all the DVD's and reading some of the literature, I'd have to say that I find the inclusion of this session along with a few other sessions a sign of poor or sloppy design.
Having provided a topical description of the DVD collection, I now return to the question I raised above: why is the 90 day period is important? I have some ideas about that. My assumption is that the guy(s) who designed this routine saw a fitness marketing niche and tried to capitalize on it. What's the niche? The niche is those people who don't have much time for exercise but have enough money to go on vacation to warm weather locations and don't want to look like their typical flabby selves when they go out on the beach there in their bathing suits. Secondarily, I think the target consumer is someone who is anticipating warm weather and wants to get themselves in shape so that when they start parading around in meager attire, they won't look so awful. When the rubber meets the road, then, I'm pretty sure this is why P90X came into being--as a new approach to selling fitness.
So, you're planning your winter vacation in Florida, or perhaps it's March and you're anticipating the onset of warmer weather. You've let yourself get a bit flabby over the years but you've got about 3 months to get yourself in shape so you can go parading around half-naked with confidence this summer. So, sort of along the lines of a fast food hunger fix, you look for a quick and dirty way to get yourself in shape. This, in my view, is the psychology the P90X creators are banking on.
Does it work, though? I.e., in 3 months time will you really be able to traipse around half-naked with confidence having followed the P90X regimen? Obviously, since I haven't tried it, I can't say for sure. But I have been involved in fitness for many years, so having viewed parts of the videos and read about the regimen, I think I can make some pretty accurate predictions about what the results might be.
My first prediction is that if, at some time in your life, you've been in pretty good shape, and if, since then, you've not allowed yourself to gain too much excess weight (say, you're not more than 40 pounds overweight), this regimen, if followed carefully, could give you pretty good results after 90 days. It really does look rigorous. I'm fairly fit at this point in my life, having gotten back into a regular exercise routine about 7 months ago, but I don't think I could keep pace with some of these folks in certain of the routines. If you're able to do so at the end of the 90 days, and have followed their nutrition guidelines pretty carefully, I'd say you're bound to be in pretty decent condition.
But what I've said above should also be taken to indicate the converse. It should be taken to indicate, for example, that if you're more than 40 lbs. overweight and/or have not been in pretty good form at some point in your life, the results at the end of 90 days might not be so good. Even for these sorts of people, following the diet guidelines and exercise should be a great benefit, but you're very unlikely to end up as lean and toned as the folks working out in the DVD's or the ones they show in the infomercials. The reasons for this, though perhaps evident, should be spelled out nonetheless.
The main reason such folks might be somewhat disappointed with the results is that they will need to start off very slowly in performing the exercises. In fact, people that are, say, 70 lbs. overweight, should probably be very careful in following this regime. They should consult with a physician, for example, about what they should and should not be attempting. As I mentioned, some of these routines are very arduous and demanding, and most people--even those in pretty good shape like myself--are not going to be able to keep up with the people in the DVD's in all the routines. In short, if you fall into this category, I'd say your health and physique are bound to benefit from doing the full course of P90X, but don't delude yourself into thinking you'll look as good as the people they show in the infomercials or on the DVD.
Before offering a preliminary list of the good and bad I've found in the P90X regime so far, I want to say a few words about how I myself intend to employ P90X in my exercise regime. The fact that I say "employ P90X in my exercise regime" should already clue you in to the fact that I won't be using the regime in its stock form. Though I may have alluded in my inaugural post to the reasons for my adaptation of P90X as opposed to using the regime in its stock form, I will offer them here in a more expanded form.
The main reason I will not use P90X in its stock form is that my exercise routine already contains a central aerobic exercise I'm happy with and want to continue using--cycling. I do not want to replace my cycling activity with any of the aerobic exercises P90X shows, so the aerobic part of their regime is largely irrelevant to my needs. This holds true as well for any leg-strengthening exercises shown on the DVD's: my legs still look much like they did in the days when I was racing bicycles and touring, so I don't have much interest in building up more muscle there or even doing any toning of leg muscles, for that matter.
Secondarily, I'm not looking to do an intensive toning regimen in preparation for warm weather or an upcoming vacation. Rather, I'm looking for a long-term exercise regimen. The need I have is, since I already use some weights for upper body strengthening, toning, and muscle building, to have an alternate regime that, instead of weights, employs upper body calisthenics--and P90X demonstrates some great upper body calisthenics.
So, I want a calisthenics routine that helps strengthen and tone upper body muscles, one that I can substitute at certain times of year for the weight lifting I now do.
Thus, when it comes to employing P90X, I will be using only parts of it--mainly the upper body exercise routines. I will use those routines at certain times of the year as a substitute for weight lifting. So my use of P90X--when it actually comes time to employ it (probably I'll start within the next couple of weeks)--will be a heavily-modified and truncated one. Now that I've gotten my description of how I'll employ P90X out of the way, I'll offer my list of good and bad aspects of the P90X regime.
First, the good:
1. P90X shows a great selection of exercises.
2. P90X requires very little equipment and is a regimen most folks can perform in their own homes.
3. Tony Horton, though I found him initially a little irritating, does a good job explaining fitness and the exercise, as well as providing inspiration. Also, since several participants appear on each of the DVD's, one does get the sense watching this that one is involved in a group activity--which can also help with motivation.
Now, the bad:
1. P90X seems based on a sort of fast-food approach to fitness. It sells itself as sort of a quick fix for flabbiness and is bound, in my view, to disappoint folks who are not very fit and are looking for that sort of quick fix. Alternately, it might foster a lifestyle pattern of long periods of unhealthy living punctuated by periods of intense physical activity--something I'm not sure would be a net gain in terms of overall health.
2. P90X presents itself as a well-thought-out and structured program, but from the (admittedly limited) materials I have access to, it looks more haphazard and not especially well structured. If my perceptions about this are correct, there's at least a little deceptive marketing going on here.
The indifferent:
P90X promotes a fitness concept called "muscle confusion" as being key to the results it gives. It sounded interesting to me and made some sense. Since I've not used the routine I can't say whether the concept is a sound one or not. It seems to be a debated topic from some internet discussions I read (google "muscle confusion" to find those discussions). It's worth mentioning that the developers of P90X seem not to have invented this concept. Whether or not muscle confusion is hype I'll have to leave for a later discussion. All I can say is that at this point I'm not sure what to make of it.
In any case, my preliminary impressions about P90X are mostly positive. If one approaches it with the right frame of mind and a strong sense of self-discipline, I would expect the regime to give pretty good results. Whether it's worth the $120.00 they ask for on the infomercials will be up to you to decide. I should point out that doing some research on the 'net and in libraries you could likely put together a routine about as good as P90X, but there is a convenience factor to P90X in that it's a sort of "one stop shop" and gives you a well-rounded routine without the time and effort you might need to put one together yourself. I know I would never pay $120.00 for something like this, but at 1/3 that price (used), it seemed worth it.
For a more thorough review, and one that is based, not just on reviewing some of the materials but on actually employing the routines shown on the DVD's, keep and eye out for a future post.
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