 Let's be honest...you might live under a rock if you have never heard of P90X. This is the "original" workout that came out 10 years ago. P90X3 came out last year and was extremely popular since the program was condensed into 30 minute workouts. P90X2 is like the step brother of the P90X family that was shipped off to military school for kicking too much ass. This program is the real deal from a butt kicking standpoint. P90X2 is geared more towards sports performance and is more of an elite training for athletes, which is one reason why I wanted to try it! I still play quite a bit of volleyball and at a fairly competitive level so for me, it was mainly to improve my performance on the court. Move faster, jump higher, and be in better physical shape to avoid injury. There is no strict calendar to follow, which makes P90X2 very unique when comparing it to other programs. It is broken up into 3 phases and although each phase has a recommended schedule for each week, they don't say to do each week for a given period of time. You are the judge of when you're ready to move on to the next phase. Each phase helps prepare you for the next group of workouts which is really nice. I started this workout after completing 2 rounds of P90X3, followed by a "rest" phase where I did PiYo. So I was in decent "P90X shape" coming into this workout. By that I mean, Tony makes you do a lot of pull-ups and push-ups along with quite a bit of balance work... just to give you an idea of where I was at with my workouts before starting.
Phase 1 - Foundation This Phase is geared towards teaching you most of the moves. The warm-ups stay pretty much the same in all the workouts so you quickly learn all the moves you'll be doing during that part of the workout. One thing that I really enjoyed about this program was that the warm-up was very comprehensive, so you do a lot of moves to get warm, then you stretch, and you foam roll in nearly all the warm-ups. The foam rolling piece is nice because normally I'm too lazy to do that...so it forces you to spend some time improving the quality of your muscles not just size and endurance. There are 6 workouts that you use in Phase 1, plus a bonus 7th workout Ab Ripper that you add on a couple of days. The schedule is setup so that you workout hard 4 days a week. Those workouts include high intensity core work, plyometric work, total body strength and a balance and strength workout. In between those workouts you mix in yoga one day and the other two days you can either take as rest days or do the Recovery + Mobility workout, which is a fantastic workout and something I tried to do at least once a week. I really enjoyed this Phase and I ended up doing it for 4 weeks before moving on. Here is a little video of me me doing one of the moves in the Balance + Power workout. This will also give you an idea of the space you will need, which isn't much! Phase 2 - Strength Phase 2 is similar to Phase 1, so you will go hard 4 days a week, 1 yoga day, and 2 recovery days. The intense workouts in this phase were some of my favorites out of all of the X2 workouts. I used to be a gym guy before I moved into doing home workouts. I wasn't good at actually getting TO the gym, but I did enjoy throwing some weight around while I was there. A big piece of the Phase 2 workouts is using a lot of dumbbells, push-ups, and pull-ups. Stuff that most guys (and some ladies) like!!! The awesome part of this program, and what sets it apart from just lifting weights "normally", is that you are rarely standing on 2 feet when doing lifts, or when you are doing push-ups you are using stability balls or medicine balls to balance on. This really engages all those stabilizer muscles and core muscles. As you progress through each phase, you definitely notice your balance improves with the moves that you are doing. I never upped my weight all that much but I did notice that I did more reps and my balance was much better. Phase 3 - Performance Once again, this phase is 4 days of hard workouts, 1 yoga day, and 2 rest or recovery workout days. The 4 days that you are "on" you use just 2 workouts, P.A.P Upper and P.A.P. Lower. P.A.P. stands for Post-Activation Potentiation. If you want to look into what that means exactly, here is a link to an article on the topic, Post-Activation Potentiation. To summarize: the goal of this type of training is to improve your explosive power as your muscles fatigue. My real life application of this is playing volleyball. This type of training will help me to be able to jump as high in my last game of the night as I was able to jump in my first game. If I'm being honest, this was my least favorite Phase. After the 2nd week, I found myself bored with the workouts and the schedule. I did 3 full weeks following the X2 schedule but in the 4th week I ended up switching to using P90X3's Complex Upper and Lower workouts which are also based on PAP training. This gave me a little more variety, which was nice. Overall Review Overall I really enjoyed this program, especially the first 2 phases and all the different workouts and moves. I definitely saw my strength and balance improve. I loved the complex nature of all the moves and it really challenged me. The only downside was the workouts did get a little long. For the person that just wants to get in and get it done, this wouldn't be the best workout for you. For someone that is transitioning from working out at the gym, I think it would be great from a timing standpoint. I would say this program is geared more towards strength and improving muscle endurance. My goal going into it was to actually put on some weight, which I was able to do without gaining any body fat. I don't know if I would recommend it to the person that wants to lose a lot of weight. It is probably better suited for the person that wants to drop some body fat % points, get a little stronger, improve muscle quality and improve sports performance. No matter where you are with your fitness, this program WILL challenge everyone. If you're more advanced, you will likely be able to move through the phases faster...but there is something for everyone with this program! My Results I'll start with my before and after pictures (before pictures are on the top, after on the bottom). I try to be as fair with this as possible, no flexing (except in the flexing ones), similar lighting, same time of day. When I started, my weight was the lowest it had been since right after college, 157 lbs. After finishing X2, I was up to 165 lbs!!! I personally see a difference in my back, shoulders and arms...and a little bit in my chest. If you're looking at the flexing pics, I definitely see more definition in my shoulders and back. Overall I'm pretty happy with my the changes!
Some of the coolest numbers that I like to track are girth measurements and also the Fit Test numbers. I love that I basically maintained my waist measurement while adding 8 lbs. Based on the measurements, it seems my arms, thighs and butt got most of it. With the Fit Test, the before numbers were actually my after numbers after I completed my first round of P90X3. I set a goal at the beginning of X2 (with one of the Challenge Groups that I was running) that I wanted to be able to do 25 pull-ups and 100 push-ups without breaking. I fell a little short, but definitely saw some big gains in both of those areas. Another area that I didn't really notice getting stronger but based on the numbers from the "Ab In and Outs" my core strength/stamina definitely improved. The last thing that I want to point out is the cardiovascular work that these programs provide. So many people think they need to go pound the pavement or hop on an elliptical in order to work their heart. NOT TRUE. Before I started any P90X workouts my resting heart rate was 62 which is good, but you can see how much it improved. I will say X3 is a better cardio workout due to their being less breaks and shorter breaks. My heart rate maximizer numbers from a year ago were: Immediately after - 172 After 1 minute - 107, After 2 minutes - 107, After 3 minutes -79, After 4 minutes - 85. Basically what this test has you do is go all out with jumping jacks for 2 minutes to get your heart rate up then once you are done, you monitor how your heart rate recovers. The change here is crazy!!! After 2 minutes of basically sprinting, my heart is now able to recover to the point of my resting heart rate. If you want to live longer, your heart muscle needs to be stronger...and this workout definitely works that muscle too.
If this program sounds like something you are interested in trying out, I would love to chat with you.
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Hi there friends! If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen that we got our Insanity Max:30 workout last night. We decided to give the first workout a shot and wanted to share this video with you of what a few of the moves look like...along with our review of this workout, Cardio Challenge. In the spirit of A Chipmunk Christmas we made the workout double time so Shaun T sounds like a chipmunk. We both are SUPER excited to continue with the other workouts in this program and plan on jumping in fully with our accountability group that starts on December 29th. We know we will need some support through this program, because if the first workout is any indication of the rest of them, it's something that will push you mentally and physically...EXACTLY what we need after the Holidays and getting over that post holiday slump!! You know what I'm talking about....right?? We only have 10 spots left so if you are interested in the group and want to take advantage of this deal, comment below or shoot us a message. We should also note that anyone who buys a Challenge Pack (Insanity Max:30 + Shakeology) before December 15th will get a $25 gift card from us to the retailer of their choosing!!!  Shaun T hooked me on home workouts with Insanity and to this day, he's the ONLY ONE that can inspire me to do more than I think I can and push my body to its limits. My body wasn't the only thing that changed though....my MIND was stronger and it made me believe I could do anything...which also spilled over to the rest of my life. I love that the goal is to fail. I love that it pushes you right away and forces you to assess your own limits...and then INVITES you to shatter what you thought was your limit!! Eeek!! I can't wait!
 **BONUS from us: anyone that orders a challenge pack THIS WEEK will also get a $25 gift card to either Amazon or iTunes! Who wants in?? Don't be shy! Beachbody's annual "Black Friday" sale is back. The great thing is that you don't have to wait until Friday to take advantage of these deals. Whether you are shopping for yourself or someone on your Christmas list, you will be able to find some equipment or program for just about anybody. The programs range from low intensity workouts like Slim Series and Hip Hop Abs to some of the most intense workouts like Insanity Asylum and P90X. If you aren't sure what program is right the fit feel free to send us a message. You can find the full list of sales and availability by clicking on any of the pictures.  Who doesn't love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate. Reese's has made a fortune selling their delicious packaged goodness. How do they make them so good, SUGAR!!! Go figure a candy company puts a ton of sugar in their products, I guess I can't blame them. So we were asked to find a healthier version of this irresistible treat. This was a pretty simple task, we simple used a natural peanut butter and what better way to add some healthy chocolate flavor than use Chocolate Shakeology. As you can see by the nutrition facts, I think we did ok, less sugar and more protein, that's a win in my book.
 We talk a lot about nutrition, changing habits, exercise, and recipes. So you might think we have always eaten healthy, or don't struggle with the same issues that you have. Wrong. As the picture above shows, I didn't always have a 6 pack and defined chest and arms. Believe it or not the picture on the left is actually after I had already lost 15 pounds. The first 15 pounds came off solely through nutrition and food using the Ultimate Reset, which is a 21 day program. Prior to the Ultimate Reset I was eating pretty crappy food, with some good stuff mixed in every once in a while. After the Reset, I flipped that, I was eating mainly good food, with a little bit of crappy food mixed into my diet. That change I made with my diet was by joining one of Laura's Challenge Groups. This group put the pressure on me to make good decisions DAILY, because I knew at the end of the day I would have to tell the group if I ate chicken strips and french fries. It was that pressure that helped me start making better decisions. Although kale and sweet potatoes can help you with a lot of things nutritionally, they don't help you build muscle. So the other piece of my transformation was doing a new program at the time called Focus T25. This program was created by Shaun T, the same guy that created Insanity. One of the main factors that helped me stay on track was that this program was only 25 minutes. YES...you can get results without working out for hours at the gym. When I started this program in June, 2012, I was working as a golf professional, so I was right in the heart of my busy season. I was working 50+ hours per week, sometimes up to 80 hours/week. So the time piece was crucial for me to still get my workouts in, on top of my day job. Coming home after a 12 hour work day that started at 6:00 a.m., I faced the same conflicting thoughts on whether to workout or not...that you probably battle! There were definitely some days where I missed workouts and also other days where I just wasn't motivated. The thing that got me to workout on on those days, was my commitment to the group I was a part of. Just like with my eating, I was being held accountable for my daily actions. The decision to do the workouts was already made for me. I didn't look at it as an option. I wanted to give this group all I had for 60 days and see what would happen to my body and how I felt. I focused on my nutrition with Shakeology and eating right. I did my workouts. I got results. It really is that simple. There isn't a magic pill or potion that I took to see the results I did. It came through those daily choices, and not viewing them as optional. In my mind, if I would have seen these choices as merely optional, then that would give me a way to get out of it with excuses or when I didn't feel like it. The combination of a workout program you can fit into your day (Focus T25), proper nutrition,(including Shakeology), and having people that will hold you accountable for the decisions you are making (Challenge Groups), I KNOW is the best way to see the results you are after and ingrain lasting healthy habits. If this combination sounds like something you want to try the Focus T25 and Shakeology bundle is on sale this month and we have a group starting August 18th!! There are plenty of other programs that are proven to be successful as well, and we would love to help you find the the one that best suits your ability and lifestyle. |
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