P90x review time.I don’t do a lot of reviews on my site but today I’m going to tackle the granddaddy of home workout programs, P90x.

First let’s get this out the way: Unlike most P90x reviews this is not going to be some feel-good story filled with fairies and unicorns about how P90x has changed my life.

Quite the opposite.

This is going to be a brutally honest P90x workout review and analysis of its system and methodology.

Let’s get to it.

Want the ultimate alternative to P90x? Find out how to get the same results in just 20 minutes per day.

Muscle confusion is (kinda) bullshit

Yeah that’s right, I said it.

In P90x, muscle confusion basically states that you must consistently switch up your exercise selection to continue to burn fat, build muscle, and avoid plateaus.

There is some truth to this but a lot of the theory behind muscle confusion is bullshit.

Your muscles can’t get “confused.” Sorry to break the bad news. As a human being, you and your thoughts can get confused (like when you go to Bangkok and find out half the girls there are dudes). But your muscles can’t get confused. Making your workout more confusing doesn’t result in a more effective workout.

Your muscles can ONLY adapt to volume and load. This means that if you want to gain more muscle, you need to be progressively push more weight and/or reps. For example, this can be as simple as going from only being able to do 1 push-up to being able to do 2 push-ups. You progressed from 1 to 2 so your muscles will automatically get stronger. And when you’re able to do 50 push ups, you’re going to have much stronger muscles.

See what I mean? You progressed from 1 to 50 so your muscles are now bigger and stronger. Boom! Logic and common sense FTW, none of that muscle confusion silliness.

P90x review: The workouts  are overkill and unnecessary

With P90x you workout 6-7 times per week depending on whether you take the 7th day as a Rest or “X Stretch” day.

Day 1 – Chest&Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2 –  Plyometrics

Day 3 – Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 – Yoga X

Day 5 – Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6: KenpoX

Day 7: Rest or X Stretch

7x per week workouts. Fuck…

Professional athletes train 5-7 times per week, so why would an average Joe who simply wants to lose weight and look better need to workout every single day.

The answer – there is no need to train 7 days per week. This is just all part of P90x’s extreme branding. Obviously you’re going to be tired and incredibly sore from doing P90x so people inevitably say it’s “working” for them.

Even if you’re an advanced trainer, I can almost never recommend training 7 days per week. Granted some of these days are more relaxed than others (yoga and stretching) but still, training 7 days per week is unnecessary especially if your goal is to simply look and feel good (which is probably what most are trying to accomplish).

Will P90x get results if you do it? Yes absolutely, but it is by far one of the least optimal approaches to losing weight.

When it comes to fat loss, one of the best approaches to working out is to simply train 3-4 times per week to mainly preserve muscle mass, and to let your diet create the majority of the calorie deficit and burn fat. P90x takes the opposite approach – it tries to use the workout to create a calorie deficit/burn fat and the diet to sustain energy.

It’s much easier to eat 100 less calories than it is to burn 100 calories via exercise.

P90x review: Dieting not made easy

I’m not going to dive into the dieting section much since it’s a very very typical eat every 2-3 hours, 6 meals per day  “eat clean” diet. You’ll also get the and exact meal plan to follow in the diet section.

And I am not a fan of these typical diets mostly because they’re restrictive, allow no room for error, and makes you form a bad relationship with food.

Not to mention the fact that the whole “You need to eat breakfast and eat every 2-3 hours.” saying is complete myth. Sorry, eating every 2-3 hours does not boost your metabolism.

You can eat 1 meal per day or you can eat 6 meals per day. It doesn’t matter.

Check out a sample day of how I eat here.

Dieting is a lifestyle change but do you really want to live a lifestyle where you have to eat every 2-3 hours on the clock and can only eat a specific list of foods. Of course not, that’s lame. You want to live a life where ice cream and doughnuts are regularly involved.

I really like how Nate Miyaki’s approach to dieting, Feat Your Fat Away where you get to feast on food every night and still  lose fat. His approach makes it super flexible and easy to lose fat.

Why do you want to do P90x?

Serious question: Why do you want to do P90x? Just be honest.

Most people who do P90x fall into the following categories:

1. You simply want to get in shape (lose fat and build a little muscle).
2. You want to get in shape but are too lazy or embarrassed to go to the gym
3. You want to get absolutely ripped and need an intense workout program to help you do that.

People in category 1 are typically the beginners. They end up doing P90x because they simply believe it’s the best option. They constantly hear their friends talk about it, they see the infomercials, and what the hell, it’s the New Year so I may as well give this new workout a shot, right?

Those in category 2 have probably already tried losing weight in the past with no success. Perhaps they went to the gym and had no idea what they were doing or perhaps they had a bad experience with a personal trainer that touched them in weird places. Now they simply want to stay in the comfort of the home and maybe give this P90x thing a shot.

Category 3 people are those who are already familiar with working out but want to give themselves more of a challenge. These aren’t beginners, but they want a workout to push their body to the limit.

To be completely honest, the only people who should do P90x are category 3 people. If you find yourself in category 1 or 2, P90x is going to be overkill for you. There are much better options out there.

Conclusion: P90x gets results but it’s not the optimal solution for weight loss

I know what you’re going to say.

“But Tony Horton does P90x and he’s ripped.”

“But my friend’s uncle’s second cousin did P90x and he lost a ton of weight.”

“Shut the hell up, obviously P90x works since so many people have used it and got in shape.”

And you’re 110% right. If you follow P90x to the letter, you will get results. You will lose weight and look better, guaranteed.

But you don’t need to do P90x to lose weight and get in shape. If you truly want to improve your conditioning, then P90x may be right for you otherwise it’s a bit pointless.

In fact when you talk to people who do P90x, all you do is hear them bitch and moan about how tough the workout is and how it’s kicking their ass. “Oh man, P90x is so hard but I know it’s working because I’m so sore.” No shit Sherlock, if you do any intense workout that you’ve never done before, you’re going to be sore. And people always tend to equate soreness to results even though it’s not true (but that’s another article altogether).

My point is – P90x works but it’s not optimal if you simply wan to to lose weight and get in shape. There are just so many more effective and simple options out there. Whether you’re looking for a great at-home workout routine (I like Bodyweight Burn) or you can just go to the gym 3x per week and do a few simple strength training workouts.

And boom, you’re done. There’s no need to train 6-7 times per week…absolutely no reason at all.

Remember, use your diet to lose weight and your workout to build/maintain muscle.

P90x review breakdown

Pros:

• Exact meal plans for those who don’t know what to cook
• Good workouts for building endurance and overall conditioning

Cons:

• Over the top and unnecessary workouts if you simply want to lose weight and look/feel good
• Absolutely no science to back up muscle confusion
• Diet plan is laughably cliche – your typical eat 6 meals per day, eat clean stuff

Overall P90x score – 6.5/10

Need a more better home workout routine than P90x?

So if P90x isn’t as great everyone else makes it out to be, what are you suppose to do use for a home workout program?

There are a ton of great options but one of my favorite programs is Bodyweight Burn by Adam Steer.

It’s a fantastic program that allows you get a great workout in as little as 21 minutes. To some that might not seem like a lot but if done effectively like in Bodyweight Burn, sometimes that’s all you need.

I know I’m in the minority when it comes to doing more negative P90x reviews, so PLEASE leave any questions or comments you have in the comment section below. I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have. As Tony Horton would say, “Bring It!”

The post P90x Review: The Brutally Honest Truth About P90x appeared first on FitMole.

Update 1: Brad Pilon just released his new and improved expanded edition of Eat Stop Eat. It includes all new chapters on leptin, fasting and women, longer fasts, fasting as training, and more.

Update 2: For those that decide to purchase Eat Stop Eat through any of the links in this article, I am offering an exclusive workout program as a bonus. I designed the program with Eat Stop Eat in mind and it’s perfect. Just forward your receipt to [email protected] and I’ll send the bonus over.

Fasting is a dirty word. You tell someone that you’re fasting for fat loss or weight maintenance and they look at you like you’re some crazy motherf*cker.

But tell them that you fast because of your religion or because you need to do so more medical reasons, and boom, you’re Mr. Normal again. Why is this? Is fasting for non-medical/non-religious reasons really that bad?

Or are we just brainwashed by the media and less than reputable fitness professionals into believing that you need to constantly eat every 2-3 hours. This is where Brad Pilon and his masterpiece Eat Stop Eat comes in. Brad Pilon is who many consider one of the leading advocates behind intermittent fasting (check out my interview with Brad Pilon).

While fasting itself is nothing new, the act of using it for fat loss and physique development has only begun gaining popularity the last few years.

Eat Stop Eat Review: What is Eat Stop Eat?

A book written by Brad Pilon that covers all facets of intermittent fasting as well as his approach to fasting which involves 1-2 fasts per week done for 24 hours.

Why should you practice intermittent fasting?

For those that don’t know what intermittent fasting is it’s essentially a system where you have periods eating and not eating (fasting). It basically means you’re going to wait much longer between meals. You can read more about it on my post here.

You tell someone that you’re fasting for fat loss or weight maintenance and they look at you like you’re some crazy motherf*cker.

This period can last anywhere from 8-24 hours. This is nothing fancy but considering how often eating every 2-3 hours is preached, this is a breath of fresh air. This is what Eat Stop Eat boils down to, flexibility.

Eat Stop Eat removes the stress of meal planning and timing and teaches you to eat when you’re hungry and not just because you’re bored.

What does Eat Stop Eat cover?

To give you a general idea, here are a just a handful of topics that Eat Stop Eat covers:

• Fasting and Exercise
• Fasting and Your Brain
• Fasting and Women
• Health Benefits of Fasting
• Misconceptions About Fasting

This is just a taste of what’s in the book. Pretty much anything you’ve ever wanted to know about fasting and how it affects your body, training, and fat loss is in this book.

Is it easy to use?

Like all diets, you need to eat less calories to lose weight and Eat Stop Eat is no different. This means you’re still likely to feel the mental strains that most diets have. 99% of dieting psychological. When you start cutting back your calories over time, you begin to rationalize different reasons for why you shouldn’t even be dieting.

Hunger pangs start settling in. You try to convince yourself it isn’t worth (when it really is), then 10 minutes later, boom! You’ve polished off half a can of Pringles and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

And the cycle repeats itself. Where Eat Stop Eat tries to fix this is by having you fast for 24 hours. When you go 24 hours without eating, you experience all the highs and lows of hunger and after a while you begin to truly understand when you get hungry vs. when you simply get bored and want to eat.

True hunger doesn’t happen for at least 72 hours (provided you are drinking water). Hell, I’ve gone 67 hours without food and it really wasn’t that bad once I crossed the 36 hour mark (but I don’t recommend this).

How should I workout?

When using intermittent fasting it’s recommended that you do some sort of resistance training. You should aim to do the minimum amount needed to preserve muscle mass. And as Brad says in his book, you shouldn’t be going overboard with cardio.

And if you pick up Eat Stop Eat through any link on this article, I’ll give you the exact workout blueprint to follow. Scroll down to the bottom of the article for more info.

The majority of your weight loss is a result of your diet and cardio will simply burn you out if done too frequently. So limit the use of cardio if possible.

Book snippets

• “Fasting automatically rules out the use of any sort of food, health supplement, or newly touted “functional foods”.”

• “From a marketing stand point fasting is boring. It does not have a sexy marketing angle and it certainly does not do anything to improve the bottom-lines of food companies.”

• “In fact, many people stumble onto fasting when they very first attempt to lose weight, and they usually see some success. They only give up on fasting after being convinced that it is bad and wrong by anti-fasting propaganda.”

Eat Stop Eat review: Should you buy it?

Pros

• Easy and fun to read.
• Well-referenced with scientific studies.
• Does a great job at crushing many commonly accepted nutrition myths such as “starvation mode”, muscle loss while fasting, skipping breakfast, etc…
• Intermittent fasting will teach the difference between being truly hungry and simply being bored and wanting food.
• Flexibility allows you to stop stressing over what and when to eat.
• Great new expanded info on fasting and women, muscle building, and more.

Cons

• No exact nutrition or meal plan is given. Like myself, it’s creator, Brad Pilon is keen on keeping things super simple and flexible. And for that reason, Pilon didn’t include any meal plans in his book. Now this can be seen as both good and bad. On one hand, it’s good because it allows for greater amounts of flexibility. On the other hand, I know how much some people love to be told exactly what to eat. So yeah, take that for what it is.
• Your first time trying intermittent fasting may or may not be a bitch. Some people find fasting extremely easy, others find it hard. But it gets easier over time. And there are ways (like drinking coffee or green tea) to help suppress hunger to make it easier.

Score: 9/10

So, should you pick up Eat Stop Eat? Absolutely! If you’re on the fence about giving intermittent fasting a shot and are worried about what it may do to your body, then this book will definitely calm your nerves. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend Eat Stop Eat is if they’ve tried intermittent fasting in the past with no success.

Check out Eat Stop Eat here

If this is the case, then Eat Stop Eat won’t change your mind. If you have any questions about my Eat Stop Eat review or intermittent fasting in general, feel free to ask me in the comments.

How to get my free bonus workout

Like I said earlier – if you pick up Eat Stop Eat through any of the links on this page, I will send you an exclusive workout program as a bonus. I designed the program with Eat Stop Eat in mind and it’s perfect for burning fat and maintaining muscle.

Here’s what’s included in the bonus workout:

• The best way to structure your workouts with Eat Stop Eat for maximum fat loss.
• A highly customizable workout program that can be done in 45 minutes or less.
• My favorite 3 minute metabolic finisher to help you torch fat.
• Printable workout charts.

Just forward your receipt to [email protected] and within 24 hours I’ll send the bonus workout over.

The post Eat Stop Eat Review: Fat Loss Made Easy + Exclusive Bonus Workout appeared first on FitMole.

If you look at most workout programs on the market, you’ll see some very generalized workout programs (build muscle or lose fat), some home workout programs, but very few workout programs focus on specific aesthetics.

This is where Rusty Moore and his program Visual Impact Muscle Building (VIMB) come in.

It doesn’t just focus on building muscle. It focuses on building muscle in  a very specific way to achieve a physique akin to a Hollywood celebrity.

Visual Impact Muscle Building Review – What is it?

So what is Visual Impact Muscle Building?

It’s a  super laser-targeted muscle building and weight loss course to help guys get that coveted Hollywood physique look.

So if you ever wanted a physique like Ryan Reynolds, Chris Evans, or Daniel Craig then this is the workout for you.

But if your goal is to look like next Ronnie Coleman then this program isn’t for you .

Building an attractive body: Are you doing it wrong?

I’m not going to get into what an attractive physique is and isn’t because obviously everyone has a different opinion but I know I’m not far off when I say the majority of guys would rather look like a male model/celebrity instead of a bodybuilder.

Think GQ magazine cover versus FLEX magazine.

Typical advice for getting a great body

Go to the biggest guy in your gym and ask him how to get big.

Chances are he’ll say something along the lines of eat 5000 calories per day, train 5 days per week, and focus on getting super strong in the bench press, squat, and deadlift.

Of course I’m just stereotyping and exaggerating to a certain extent but this advice that’s given on a daily basis and it’s spewed across the internet and in magazines.

Is it bad advice? No, not if you’re trying to simply get big and huge.

But most guys don’t simply want to get big and huge. A lot of guys just want a lean and proportionate body that looks good in and out of clothes.

What happened to just trying to become really really ridiculously good looking without going overboard like a lot of bodybuilders do.

Rusty and his program Visual Impact Muscle Building turns the bodybuilding trend on its head.

His program isn’t concerned with simply gaining muscle. No, VIMB is all about gaining muscle in all the right places to sculpt your physique in order to achieve the “Hollywood look.”

How the workout is structured

VIMB is split up into 3 phases:

• Phase 1: Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy. This phase is all about gaining as much muscle as possible through high volume, high rep work that fatigues the muscles.
• Phase 2: Increase Muscular Density. This phase is about making strength and muscle gains. The amount of high rep work is cut down so you’ll be lifting more in the 5 rep range.
• Phase 3: Max density and Definition. This is where you begin to lift super heavy weights (anywhere from 2-5 reps) and where you really begin shedding off any body fat and reveal your muscles.

I’ll be honest, if you’re fairly new to working out, the first phase will be pretty brutal since it’s relatively high in volume. And if you’re not able to get through the entire workout, I wouldn’t worry too much.

Just keep on improving each week and your body will eventually adapt.

It’s not just about the bench, squat, and deadlift…

One of the main points that Rusty constantly tries hammer home is that a great body can be built without the “Big 3” exercises. You don’t necessarily to bench, squat, and deadlift to build a Hollywod physique.

But most guys don’t simply want to get big and huge. A lot of guys just want a lean and proportionate body that looks good in and out of clothes.

In fact, doing too much squatting and deadlifting can actually hurt your chances of getting the Hollywood look.

Overdoing squats and deadlifts could potentially do the following to your physique:

1) Give you a super thick and wide waist. A lot of professional wrestlers have this look. They pack a lot of muscle and aren’t overly fat, in fact you even see a hint of their six pack. But when you look at their waist, it’s super thick and wide (like the dude below).

This is the result of too much squatting and deadlifting. These 2 exercises require a massive amount core strength and the heavier you go and the more you do them, your waist will begin to thicken up. This takes away from that lean and V-tapered look that we’re going after.

2) Give you an overly huge lower body. Again, this is due to too much squatting and deadlifting. Now don’t get all preachy on me and tell me how “real men squat” or give that “squat or go home” bullshit.

I’m simply laying down the facts, and that is, if your workout is mainly focused on boosting squat and deadlift numbers then you will more than likely one day have legs that are much bigger than you’d want and this can create a very imbalanced look in your physique. A lot of guys may not want overly massive legs and VIMB addresses that perfectly.

Pros

• There’s really nothing else like this on the market. Most other workout programs are concerned with simply gaining muscle or losing fat with no focus on aesthetics.
• Isn’t afraid of challenging many common fitness assumptions.
• Great customizable program design split up into 3 phases.
• Easy to print out workout charts so you never forget what to do.
• Great exercise demo guide showcasing how to do every exercise in the program.

Cons

• No exact meal plan given. Like Eat Stop Eat, VIMB doesn’t have an exact meal plan which is pro or con depending on the person. Rusty gives general calorie and nutrition info but nothing super specific in terms of actual foods is given.

Conclusion: Visual Impact Muscle Building Review

Final Score – 9/10

So overall, Visual Impact Muscle Building is awesome if you want a Hollywood body.

If you still live and breath the bodybuilder lifestyle and refuse to do a workout that doesn’t emphasize the squat and deadlift then this program is probably not for you.

Check out Visual Impact Muscle Building

Otherwise be sure to check out VIMB and drop any questions you have about it in the comments section below.

The post Visual Impact Muscle Building Review – A No BS Look At VIMB appeared first on FitMole.