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’ve done P90x, liked it. Done Insanity, liked it. Both for different reasons and got different results with each program. P90x made me very strong, Insanity put me in some of the best cardio shape of my life. After completing a couple of cycles of each I still have a little extra weight (everything changed after having kids!) but an hour every day is just simply not sustainable for me in the long term. When I would miss a day I would feel terrible that I let myself down and with a busy schedule it happened more often then I would care to admit. For the last few months I have been practicing intermittent fasting (working out in a fasted state) and doing HIIT workouts with tremendous success, no loss of muscle and no weakness. My workouts are 20-30 minutes and über intense, and short enough so I can do them every day. I agree with you, P90x is not geared for the beginner, but it is not impossible for a beginner to do. The reality for me was, as a female, it did NOT help me look better as it was stacking on heaps of muscle quickly while the fat layers melted slowly. I prefer HIIT just for that reason, I train fasted and use my fat stores as fuel and can see the difference. If I started P90x super lean I would probably have loved it, aside from the time commitment. My husband is naturally lean and had tremendous success with P90X, he doesn’t do the program religiously but still uses the lifting DVDs on his lifting days and we both still do the yoga when we need a long and challenging stretching day. Bottom line, everyone is different and experiences different success! Try new things, see what works for you, don’t be afraid to try something that seems odd just because “someone told you so”. Thanks for your insightful review!
I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one. First of all, you don’t have to stick to it 100% to get good results. I lost over 30 pounds in my first month of doing P90X with a horrendous diet (1500-2000 calories when I did track my food which was about 80% of the time), and skipped many workouts because I didn’t have the energy to continue the routine for the day, or I was simply too sore for that day. Beginners don’t have to do this to a T by any means either. P90X is also a very effective program if you just complete half of the routine each day (I can’t count how many times I had to do that).
For a beginner who is self-conscious and wants to have all around better health and fitness in a variety of different aspects, P90X is an option, and for individuals like me it is the optimal choice.
Oh, and since you have obviously had no experience with the program, the example of the muscle confusion that you talk about is exactly what they preach when you actually do the videos. Just an FYI.
“the example of the muscle confusion that you talk about is exactly what they preach when you actually do the videos” uh…yeah I know. That’s exactly my point. I don’t get what you’re saying.
My muscles can’t be confused, or, is it that you didn’t know Merriam-Webster has an online dictionary?
Confusion: a state or situation in which many things are happening in a way that is not controlled or orderly.
Muscle confusion would mean “Muscles worked in a non-orderly way”.
It’s ok bro. We know you are pushing Home Workout Revolution.
Did P90x follow the dictionary def of confusion? Don’t think so.
The best workout I have come across is FREELETICS, nothing compares. True high intensity calisthenics.
I’m all for people having different opinions. Some people love BeachBody, some don’t, some people like P90X, some don’t. To each his own. My problem is with some of your statements about how eating one meal is the same as eating 5 or 6. You can’t get more wrong than that, I quote “As long as you hit all your calorie, macro, micro-nutrient needs…meal frequency is irrelevant.” This statement to me shows that you have a very misinformed and incorrect view. I’m sure a lot of people are coming here for advice, please don’t give them wrong advice.
Ok please back up your statement that eating 5-6 meals per day is necessary with evidence please.
Corey is Right.
This review is the worst one against a workout program I have seen. Is obvious that people that commits with p90x have positive results. There are great changes besides loosing fat and build muscle. The only fact of moving your body will make you a happier person.
You are event letting a side the medical facts when saying eating once is he same as eating 6 times per day. when you eat your system use it as fuel and release chemical activities to transform food into fue, that you will use in 2-3 hours. If you eat all your carbs at once your system take what it needs and the rest will be storage as FAT and obviously in 5 hours will be hungry again, what it means you will get more food and calories and sugar and etc.
I ask you to stop confusing people without a proper education on this aspects.
I have been thinking for a time about doing P90X I have search information of all kind about the workouts, about the diet about the results on different people. I have compared it with different kinds of workout like going to the gym, or going to swim. I have been looking for the CONTRAS and reviews against the program. All of them say it is difficult and that it is only for people in shape. This week I finally started, I have never work out before, I smoke I drink, sleep like a caw, eat whatever I want, heat routines, but with only three day of work out I have been feeling great with a lot of pain, a lot !!!! that I can even move. I skip some days to rest my muscles. and start again, a pain that means I am doing it right.
Now I feel I want to eat better to give value to the effort I am doing for only one hour. It’s better that going to the gym what I have tried twice where you wok you muscle one by one running after the training asking what is next, and waiting your turns.
Sigh…
I’ve already responded to most of your comments in previous comments. Please read them.
And if you believe 6 meals per day is necessary, please back it up with relevant facts and data please.
I see no “relevant facts and data” in your review that shows eating once a day has the same effect as eating every few hours lol. I’ve read articles published by doctors and work with a few them as a radiographer. I’ve talked with them before about this subject and they support the eating every few hours to “assist” in your goals for weight loss.
Results aka weight loss and lean physical appearance are enough to show that p90x does work.
Your review is laughable
I’ve written multiple articles on that subject:
https://www.fitmole.org/fasting-to-lose-weight/
https://www.fitmole.org/6-meals-a-day-not-cool/
https://www.fitmole.org/a-letter-to-6-meals-a-day/
??? I just read those 3 articles. none of them had any data whatsoever in reference to eating once or 6 times a day lolol. It was all about fasting for very long periods of time.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-boost-your-metabolism
just so you know the people who put the information on the site I just linked are actual Doctors with Degrees. In the 6/12 slide they say eating smaller meals every few hours increases your metabolism. So excuse me if I take their word over a guy who writes a review giving no relevant data to support his bogus claims, and then when his “opinions” are called into question he tells those people to back up their arguments with data. Lmao!!
Seriously, did you even read my articles? I’ve referenced various studies in those articles.
Here’s another articles I wrote – http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/what-is-intermittent-fasting/ with many more studies in that . Intermittent fasting can be the same as eating 1 meal per day, no difference.
Taking the term muscle confusion literally brands you a bit of an idiot to begin with. Hint: it’s not little muscle cells in your body scratching their heads and wondering whazzup.
You then go on to skip over major portions of why people who do the program as designed have good to excellent results.
You also manage to qualify your conclusions as if you are as confused as one of your little anthropomorphized muscle cells..
You state that it works but one doesn’t need it. It works but it is not optimum.
Your so called review might have been a complete waste of time if it wasn’t for having checked out the programs you actually are promoting and for taking a moment to tell you how useless your review is.
I’m taking the muscle definition term straight out of Beachbody and they say your muscles can get “confused”. Their words, not mine. And can you at least provide details for why you think my review is useless instead of just saying it is. I’m fine if you disagree but at least back up your comment.
Why is it that you and all of the other P90 X advocates can be so insulting and mean spirited. Damm, you are all attacking Keith as if he had sex with your significant others. Try being respectful, and maybe people like myself won’t have to call you out like I am doing now. Respect others views and try to not be a pissed off asshole.
Heh thanks, Eduardo.
You are not working out 7 days a week.
You do 3 days of weights and hard training and the rest (3 additional days) is cardio and stretching etc.
So are you just passing judgement and critique without having actually done it?
I am going into my 8th week and I have lost about 15lbs thus far and put on about 6lbs of muscle.
I see huge results already and will be transitioning into P90X3 afterwards since that 30 min x 6 days will keep the cadio going as well as aiding in flexibility and muscle elasticity.
I really enjoy it and it beats the mundane 3 days a week weights at the gym with a bunch of douches kissing their biceps.
Read your review. I disagree. I have been doing P90X for four or five years now to get ready for summer. It is hands-down a great program for beginners who don’t want to go to a gym, yet likely need the advice of a trainer.
Best yet, I find the workouts can be done with very little equipment (free weights or bands, and a pullup bar) in a small workout space. That’s key.
Now then, I think the eating issue can be summed up in that people who are used to eating three big meals, and then snacking at night, will do better when their diet constantly has some food in their stomach. Secondly, the workouts clearly target different parts of the body, so it’s not as if you are doing legs or chest every day.
I think P90X does a good job in getting sedentary folks moving and grooving. It is extreme, but you can see and feel the change. My opinion is that to motivate sedentary folks and former athletes to lose weight and exercise is to make them feel sore, and change their diets. It can’t be slow. It must be intense for the attitude to change — and I have zero data to back this up. Pure 100 percent opinion. And because you will fail in front of your HDTV, and not in a public gym, there is no downside.
Just my opinion. I think your review was somewhat fair, but not everyone loves P90X because Beachbody is the Walmart of exercise products, and upsells everything they can for profit. It’s just that P90X actually works.
All these packaged workout programs bug me. After all the information out there, people can’t come up with their own little home workout?. And I’ve done the 6 small meals a day. Sucks. Hassle. Always thinking about eating at the right time. Best shape of my life is when I ate dinner only with occasional small snack during the day.
Yup I love eating 1 meal per day.
As I jumped on my fitness journey 2 years ago, I used insanity to keep (or force) myself to have regular workout schedule since prior to that, I had no experience of working out. At first, one hour exercise of course (though they claim it’s 30 to 45 minutes workout, it excludes 15 minutes of intense warm up )accelerated my fat loss. I had lost significant amount of fat which, in fact, made me very happy. For the result I had accomplished that I had only invested 2 months, I could not believe my eyes. Although I did enjoy Insanity experience, I came to a conclusion after 4 months of Insanity that this kind of lifestyle was not sustainable for long term goal. It eventually developed into a phobia of not working out Insanity would equal to regain all the fat.
So my alternative choice was to do P90X. And I switched to P90X because I thought building muscle was what really changed body composition. And especially because I loved the result of Insanity, I was convinced that P90X would bring the same. Unfortunately, p90X was too advanced and too long of training for me. One hour of commitment for a women who work it corporate settings, was not possible. And by the time I would reach 40 minutes of the training, I slacked and too tired to finish 60 minutes. In short, the hour was too long and also too boring for me. HIIT was the way to go.
Although I occasionally do Insanity, workout should be something sustainable for your lifestyle. Despite my negative experience with P90X, Insanity changed and motivated me to keep continuing fitness journey. And I am grateful for that.
hey keith, first of all thx for the honnest review! i can’t even tell you all those reviews of people who probalbly work for beachbody, and cant say no wrong. i have no idea why everyone thinks your review is bad cuz it is completly true for the most part. your totally right on only people who want to get ripped and have motivation to get through it should do p90x. don’t put yourself through hell if you just want to lose like 20 pounds, cuz that can be done easily through diet and like walking. i must agree muscle confusion is bull. its not magical and beachbody can’t even back it up. i think its just so they can sell more leading to more $(someone please explain this muscle confusion thing and have facts to back it up). the diet thing is s*** though. im not gonna call tony or my doctor to ask for permisson to have a granola bar while doing p90x. your diet doesn’t have to be exactly what it says. what it is trying to say is you need to get the nutrients to refuel, and not to stick your hand in the cookie jar after every meal, and if you do this you will get results. overall this is a great workout program thatcan give you great results, but you must consider your goals and choose a workout plan and diet accordingly, and this review does a good job of stating that weather you agree or not.
Thanks Andre, seems that most people who don’t agree with me are people who have already done P90x and have seen good results from doing so, so I kinda understand where they’re coming from.
Yeah i personally have not done p90x, and heard it can give you some sick results. i’m going to try it soon and will show you my results if you would like. i would love to have those ripped looks, and i mean who dosn’t? to tell ya a bit more about myself im 16, 6’3″ and 160 pounds so im already pretty big, not fat but tall and solid. i play basketball and track so fitting p90x would usually be a stretch but im planning on doing it this summer:) can’t wait for the warm weather cuz i live in chicago where we just had a brutal winter/early spring. i really think its great that people are trying to exercise, weather it be p90x or just running/walking. btw if that is you in your photo (blue shirt and glasess) you look exactly like my cousin and is almost creepy you look so similar. anyways feel free to shoot me an email or respond here if you want to ask me somethin or just like to talk like me 😀
I see where you’re coming from in this article and have to agree that P90X may not be the most optimal for everyone. That’s the thing though, I think most have enough common sense to understand that not following Tony’s diet and program step by step isn’t the end of the world. Personally I’m taking a few of the workout vids and making my own weekly routine with them. I figure, as long as I burn enough calories that I’ll lose enough weight to feel good about myself. Sure, I won’t get those exact abs and pecs as the guy on the screen but that’s not my goal to begin with. I just want to lose weight. So I eat my daily calories minimum and make sure I have a great workout without killing myself as much as I can during the week (sometimes the soreness does not allow for workouts). I think most might react negatively towards your review score though. I always stay away from such things, I would just stick with “Not the most optimal for everyone”. Thanks for the read!
Yes most people have reacted negatively, which I fully expected and that’s fine. There’s no reason for me to jump on the “P90x is the greatest thing since sliced bread” train like everyone else.
I’m here to warn people against only eating once a day. I seriously affected my health by doing that. It took years to do damage, but eventually it caught up with me.
It got to the point where I was hallucinating. Now I eat two substantial meals every day plus snacks in between.
Please don’t warn someone without providing context. Why did it affect your health? What foods were you eating and how many calories? Please don’t just tell someone not to do something without additional details.
What a crock of S… Never have I heard such nonsense in my life regarding eating one meal a day will keep you healthly, you need to read the research, but more so read how the research was conducted. I could do research now which I am currently doing and get people to access it online, however it may not be validated by scientists. When you eat one meal a day your body takes what it needs then stores the rest as body fat because it believes it is in trouble and saves the most sustainable energy source (fat) and breaks down muscle tissue as this is only secondary when the body needs to sustain life, restricting calorie intake has been scientifically proven over and over again, so please have a wider search of things before giving information like this to the public. I will not upload my 5 years of research journals i hope you find them for yourself, menshealth or so on just aint acceptable anymore unfortunately… Are you going to add that drinking 1-3 litres of water a day is rubbush aswell?? but i was entertained reading the article so i have to give you that, fair play..
Restricting calorie intake is the ONLY way to lose weight. Meal frequency is irrelevant.
If you want good workouts, go to fitnessblender. Just subscribe to it via Youtube and there are workouts for everything you need. To lose fat, burn more calories than you consume, strength train, and eat better. Exercise however you want: P90X, Insanity, ride your bike, walk/jog, go to the gym, go to Youtube and find free workouts, dance, play Wii Sports…