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.
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:
- You simply want to get in shape (lose fat and build a little muscle).
- You want to get in shape but are too lazy or embarrassed to go to the gym
- 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!”
I won’t provide the stats or details. My before and after’s tell the story. But this “brutally honest review” serves one thing: READ THIS if you want to be convinced NOT to do P90X. My honest truth is that, years ago, P90X and Tony Horton Changed. My. Life.
No exaggeration.
The winners, I believe, are those who not only realize impressive gains from the 90 days, but who become hooked on fitness for life as a result. I couldn’t be more grateful.
— A ripped, and fit 51-year old rockin’ female.
While this review does raise some good points, the information presented should be backed up by some sort of evidence. For instance, the speeding of the metabolism. It has been suggested that you should eat small meals throughout the day in order to speed up your metabolism rather than eating two large meals at separate times during the day. Understand that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day because it gives you energy to becoming active throughout the day. Back to 5-6 small meals a day. These small meals do not intend to make you feel bloated or fat after you are done eating them. Imagine, after you finish a huge dinner, you can hardly move. On top of all that, it would all go to one place when you have digested it all. That’s right. Your stomach. When it comes to dieting, it is clear that this article does not provide sufficient evidence to say the P90x is not giving a good meal plan. On the contrary, it is providing an individual with no knowledge on how to diet a simplified plan to a scheduled eating lifestyle.
As for the exercises in P90x, this article does raise many good points. However, the rate of which someone will see results completely depends on the individual. Then again, you have to ask, is this individual completing the exercises to their maximum capacity? Are they skipping days? Are they skipping meals? The whole idea behind this program is to establish a healthier lifestyle and physique. It may not give the results people are looking for in 90 days, but if it gets them moving and off the couch, then maybe in 900 days we will see some results.
My final comment is on the muscle confusion. I do not want to sit here and lecture others on how effective or not effective it is, but I will say one thing. Reaching plateau while doing the same exercises is not healthy. The healthier approach to having a balanced body is muscle confusion. Why not just do the same exercises that I know? I’ll tell you why. Bench press is proven to be one of the most effective exercises to increase overall strength in the upper-body. Here’s what they didn’t tell you if you do it every week or twice a week. Continue to do the same exercise and parts of your body will become accustomed to that position i.e. your shoulders. The shoulders will round in-ward. Causing the upper back to become rounded. The body thus returns to its natural state (fetal position).
These habits are not good and will create an imbalance in certain parts of your body. P90x explores muscle confusion and uses that approach to rid the human body of poor posture and accustomed exercises. Is it really that unnecessary? I think not. Just ask Arnold. 7 time Mr. Olympia. He will tell you that he loves confusing the hell out of his muscles and making them work. Hold on there folks. The man who revolutionized body building doesn’t know anything about muscle confusion. Let’s just sit here and read this article that clearly knows what is good dieting and good exercise habits. Have a nice day. I hope you learned something.
I would like to add one last thing your statement about p90x focusing more on the workout and not diet is incorrect. The p90x package comes with a dietary plan that includes easy to do recipes and a menu. Unfortunately you can’t do more than that when it come to dietary habits. So, while the program may be extreme it is also balanced.
One thing this fitmole (probably fat assed) author fails to mention is the benefit of seeing the P90X routine through til the end. Completing this journey will not only make you look better than you probably have been in your entire life, but also will give you confidence KNOWING you completed it. It’s brutally hard, but once you’ve done it, you KNOW that food won’t be your master and working out might become a way of life. My money is that this loser author is bashing it because he quit after 5 days.
The people that try P90X are the people who don’t want your everyday “getting into shape” work out routine. They WANT to push themselves to the extreme. They want to see what they are made of. They watch the informercials that clearly tells them this is an extreme workout, and that is what makes them want to try it.
I am a 43 year old woman and P90X changed my life. I have done 2 cycles and am about to start another one tomorrow. I love it and highly recommend it.
This is a joke. I’ve done 3 rounds of p90x in the past 2 years and have got amazing results losing weight and staying in shape. The first 90 days I went from 205lbs to 170. That’s 35lbs in 3 months. And I didn’t follow the meal plan. I just didn’t eat fast food the whole time. And as far as the muscle confusion it works. It might not truely confuse the muscles but it does a great balence to each muscle group in the entire body while always involving core. Best decision ever
Before I say anything else, I first want to say that I am a HUGE FAN of P90X. That being said, I appreciate hearing a negative critique of the program just because it’s nice to hear perspective. It seems like almost all the reviews I read of the program are positive. So I thank the author for having a different opinion.
I don’t disagree with a lot of the author’s points. It’s a hard workout and if you just want to lose weight, there are much easier ways to do it. It does take a lot of time and energy. It takes extreme dedication and almost defines your life. I am in maybe my 8th round of P90X. I’ve done it many times over the past 6 years. I’ve done P90X2 and I’ve done BodyBeast. I currently own P90X3 and I am now doing a hybrid of X1, X2, and X3 just to keep things fresh. Point is, I know!!!
BUT……. for many people, the dedication to health and fitness that P90X requires DOES change your perspective. It changes the way you look and feel both mentally and physically. The pride I have knowing that I am one of those people who MAKES the time, 6 days a week, to push myself for the sake of my physical and mental health FEELS amazing! And I get the benefit of being stronger and healthier.
I agree, P90X isn’t for everyone. It’s not for people who want to casually exercise. It’s not for people who don’t want to be uncomfortable. It’s not for people who can’t/ or don’t want to make the time. But for those looking to change their life, get into the best shape they’ve ever been in, be more flexible, increase their cardiovascular health, and see fitness differently, it IS!!!!
In conclusion, I appreciate the negative review. I don’t necessarily disagree. I just don’t see the “bad points” as negative.
I LOVE Tony!!!! 🙂
First of all, whoever wrote this, is just trying to help sell something else. They feel like downing P90X will be the way to their success, yet, judging by this comment section is looking, they have failed. Tisk, tisk, tisk, such a piss-poor affiliate marketing scheme.
Ok, now…
I’m an author, so needless to say, I don’t need to be fit for any competitions or anything like that. I just want to get my weight down and look damn good for my wife, when we hit the beach this summer. I started doing P90X 6 days ago, for the first time, and while I am very sore, I will be knocking out Day 6 today. Kenpo X. It’s not real Kenpo, but it’s based off of Kenpo. It’s a cardio day. I’m going to love it, even though I’ll barely be standing when I’m done.
I’m fat. I weigh far too much. I gained it all in less than a half a year, and I’ve tried so many other things. I am ALREADY experiencing (muscle) gains and (fat) losses. I know I am, because I went from couch potato (four weeks of working out) to P90X Lean. I made this commitment. I made the life altering decision, to make my life better and to be healthy for my family.
Listen, if you’re looking to get into a program that will keep you motivated to push yourself, every single day, then P90X is the program for you. I don’t care how big you are. If you’re morbidly obese, of course, you should go talk to your doctor first. They’ll probably recommend a different plan first, but as soon as you are cleared to do it, do it. It will help you become a better person. Not just healthier. It will help you become the best you, you can be.
I know that what I just said is a lot for someone who is only Day 6, but I already feel the positive effects from it. I feel tight, and I know it’s just because that’s what working out does, but I love the feeling. I am more flexible. I run up stairs, without even thinking about it, now. I am happier. I can stay awake in boring meetings. This is all from less than a week!
If you’re not ready to “Bring It,” then you shouldn’t touch P90X. But if you’re ready to “Do your best, and forget the rest,” you are ready to start. Get off of your ass, and get to it.
Hi I keep reading all of those reviews about the P90X and trying to decide if I want to spend £105 on something that is actually gonna work , and I have seen your review which has some positives in it and I have also noticed that you have started it more than a month ago now and wondering if your still doing it and if you see any more results ? I would appreciate if you can let me know how this is going ,i will give me the reasurance for purchesing it myself ..
Thanks
Angelika
The bottom line is pretty obvious
Click bait article to get P90X fans to come and comment on a struggling blog.
Author most likely did not even do the program but still feels the need to “review” it by basically telling its readers absolutely nothing about the workouts or nutrition plan and just regurgitates opinions he probably found on other websites.
The final piece of brilliance is introduced at the end when he recommends another program that is coded to refer to his website if someone purchases it by clicking the link throwing into question how “brutally honest” this actually is if he is getting paid by someone to push another program.
Here’s some pointers for the future. If you are going to do a review then its best to actually have used the product and not push another product in the same article.
I enjoyed reading your review. I’m a fitness coach for over 15 years experience in weight loss coaching. I’m also a high-level age group competitive athlete with two ironman triathlons under my belt. I know what it’s like to train hard and for more than 20 hours per week.
Sometimes people ask me if I tried the P90X workouts. I always said “no”. Where I’m not training for any major event right now, I decided it’s time to try it. I will write an honest review when I’m done too.
I agree with some things said in your article. P90X is overkill. Tony isn’t entirely correct, and his ab routines are outdated (he needs to study Stuart McGill’s work), but no trainer in this world is ever 100% correct because exercise and nutrition science is more therory (often based on personal biases and experiences) than fact, including my own. We always need another clinical study on something, and when there are none done on a certain subject, we are ultimately taking a stab at it to form our own conclusions. So basically, some aspects of our own teachings are created from making a “guess” (an educated one) on what we think people should do to get the results they desire.
I don’t think it’s fair that you are ripped apart by everyone above. It’s true, you don’t need to do those extreme workouts to lose weight BUT they do present a challenge which is motivational to try and complete. Therefore P90X works because it provides a guide, a challenge, and motivation BUT not because the system is anything special. The supplements are actually junk and you could make everything from scratch on whole foods and still get the same results. However, as it is now, it’s easy to carry out and doesn’t require anyone to think. All they have to do, is just do!
You never said it didn’t work. You just said people don’t have to go that extreme to lose weight. You are right on that. Also, because of Tony’s very high repetition workouts, beginners are at high risk for RSI (repetitive stress injuries). It would be interesting to know how many people quit due to RSI.
The program, like everything else, will be great for some and suck for others. We all have a right to our opinion. I personally am enjoying it, even though Tony drives me nuts and shares some incorrect info. I’m not a perfect trainer either and I’m sure I say things wrong sometimes and drive my clients nuts. Ha. But I’m determined to complete this program so I can say I did, learn from it, and use the positive aspects of it in my own teachings.
For those that are not fitness trainers, heads up – we trainers actually don’t need to do an exercise routine to know if it works or not. This is why we go to school – to study the body and learn about stuff. We can actually learn and critique via observation. How else do you think we train people? We watch our clients and give feedback. So yes, the writer can just watch P90X and still give and honest review as he has the knowledge in his brain to be able to understand what’s actually being delivered, on a whole. There’s more going on than what you see on the surface.
That’s my two cents!
I’ll give you a general comment. I own P90x. I am both a lazy ass and and a leisurly workout person.
Yes, it is overkill, if you follow it to the letter. But, I dont and I still get results. I don’t buy into the diet, so I use my own diet, or Healthy Eating Habits.
Also, I do as much as I can do of the work out. Get some burn. Rest a day in between workouts, if I find I am too sore…Over time Wah Lah. Strength and weight loss.
I like this particular workout, because it keeps me from getting bored. I get bored with repetition and I don’t like gyms. I am active, but need to get back into shape after work and an injury caused me to sit around and recover, which over time means I gained weight and got flabby.
P90X allows me to tone, at home, get excersize and back in the game. Once the weather is nicer, I will be kayaking and hiking regularly and will back off.
Its all expectation.
I do believe it works and I’ll see it to the end. Yes its hard yes its long but again it works. The 3 to 4 times a week is just not enough for me but for someone with a faster metabolism it might be good enough. My son gets sick once a year for his tryouts it depends how bad you want it. It says in the video if they do 30 Rep and you can only do 15 then do 15 keep moving that the important part. If you don’t want a challenge then don’t do it. It took a lifetime to gain weight and get out of shape I can commit to 90 days and get healthy and fit again.After I’m done maybe I’ll do 3 to 4 times a week to maintain or I’ll keep going.
All I can say is the inches are coming of energy level are up and my family is noticing changes
Anyone who has completed will tell you “they wish they had done it sooner” period
I have low back issues so I started out years ago with physical therapy and then worked with a personal trainer for years. When he moved locations I looked for something I could do at home and found P90X. The first cycle was like having a personal trainer at home and I loved it. I have used it off and on for years, then last year, I had a long period of severe back pain. I gained weight and couldn’t exercise. My pain has subsided so I will be starting a new cycle tonight and look forward to feeling good again. You’re right, it’s not for everybody but it works for me.
Here is a review, that is now dated but truly honest.
http://IdidP90X.com
Program works, it is not for everyone and not for beginners but it can be done depending on you fitness level. You don’t have to follow it to the letter, adjust to your ability and you WILL still get results…just like you would from any other regiment that you stick to and show up every day.
All the best.