Category: DVD Days P90X to Tapout XT

Everything I think about the workouts. Including some weights, reps and sets etc. Detailed as much as I can remember or is relevant.

R9D7 – Who Am I Kidding

P90X2 is kicking my ass. Sure, I’m in great shape, but I realized last night during X2 Total Body that I have a long way to go to keep up with the kids in the DVD. Some workouts I find are OK, but last night X2 TB kicked me in the teeth. I wasn’t expecting it, I thought I would have problems with the donkey kick burpees (which were easier than I thought) but that most other things would be fine. It’s partly due to my sub standard stability ball because with the balls at gymnastics I can do this stuff no problem and it’s also partly due to the doorway chinup bar I was using, but excuses apart, I just didn’t manage to get the reps done that I thought I should have.

This is a good thing.

My shoulder got a little sore last night during the swimmers press and it still aches this morning, but apart from that the only thing hurting is my ego. I am secretly happy inside, it means I have a long way to go to master the finer balance moves and although my coordination, balance and mobility are pretty good, they can all use work.

I’m about to go into the holiday season with the challenge of being away from home for days at a time. I am not sure how I can get this done, but I am sure going to try!

P90X2 X2 Shoulders + Arms Review

Just a quick note about the equipment used in P09X2. You don’t have to have the right stuff to do this workout, you can improvise easily. For example I have a home made medicine ball I created using a basketball and some sand. If I need to use 2 medicine balls, I use 2 dumbbells and stand them on their ends, it’s more work than a med ball, but that’s kinda the point! For the stability ball work you can easily use a chair, a sofa or in fact any kind of ball for the feet part. For the shoulders on the ball it’s a little harder but you can again use the edge of a chair.

This workout includes X2 Ab Ripper and starts with the standard warmup:

Warmup:
Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch jumping foot switch
Table – A staple for shoulder stretching, hips up, hands under shoulders

Workout – 3 rounds of the same thing:

Balance Curl – Double arm curls while standing on 1 leg
Arnold Press – Alternating shoulder press on 1 leg
Overhead Tricep Pull – Tricep extensions with shoulders on stability ball
6 Direction Shoulder Fly – Unless shoulders have changed radically in the last few years I would call this 3 direction. Start hands to side, side raise, hold arms up bring to the front and lower in front. Raise in front, hold up at height, move arms away to sides and lower to sides. The hands here are facing front and you should be on 1 leg – No surprise there.
Crazy 8 – Static Arm Curls from P90X but you guessed it, on one leg
Y-T Fly – Laying face down on stability ball, feet on floor, make sure your back is arched. With dumbbell hands facing front, fly in a Y position, then fly in a T position.
Rocket Launcher Tricep Kickback – In forward lunge position, perform tricep kickbacks
Water Break

Repeat 2 more times!

Cool Down

X2 Ab Ripper 

P90X2 Chest + Back + Balance Review

This workout comes with X2 Ab Ripper.

The warmup this time includes the two extra moves as follows:

Warmup:
Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch foot switch
Table – A staple for shoulder stretching
Scapular Retraction – can be done on a chin up bar or with bands, extend the shoulders up and out from the sockets then pull back and together with the shoulder blades

Workout:

Pullup X – Wide hands, wide feet, no beat / kip
Plyo Stability Ball Pushup – Hands on ball, push up and clap
Core Crunch Chin Up – Like Crunchy Lever Pullup start at full extension, pull up and crunch knees into hands and down to full extension again.
Push Up Arm Side Balance – Hands on med balls, push up and extend one arm up towards ceiling
Lever – Gymnasts know this well, from chin up position pull up to bar then bring feet up with straight body until you are parallel with floor and arms are straight. Tip is to push the bar towards your hips.
4 Ball Pushups – Just as it sounds, feet and hands on med balls do some pushups.
Chin Pull – 2 of each palms forwards then backwards
The Impossible/Possible – Feet on stability ball, hands on 1 med ball, do pushups.
L Pullup – Pullups with legs in L position (up at hip height and straight)
3 Ball Plyo Pushup – Using 3 med balls, alternate pushups between middle and left ball to middle and right ball
Water Break
Vaulter Pull Up – deadlift grip pullups (one hand out, one in)
Elevated Stability Ball Pushup – Hands on stability ball, feet on chair
In and Out – Alternating Wide pullup and narrow pullup
Swimmer’s Pushup – Hands on med balls, pushup then lift opposite leg and arm (superman)
4 Grip Pullup – 1 of each wide, hammer, reverse, narrow
Double Wide Pushup – Wide hands on med balls
Double Wide Pullup – Just wide pullups, not sure what’s double about it
Chattarocker – Plank to chataranga, back to sphinx, return to chataranga and up to plank
Towel Pullup – Same as P90X but with 2 towels
Med Ball Plyo Pushups – One med ball, push up on top, jump hands down to floor, do push up jump back onto med ball and repeat

Cool Down

P90X2 X2 Balance And Power Review

Sadly it seems there are people out there stealing these reviews and posting them as their own. I guess that’s life but it still bothers me to see my handywork on another site, even if it’s in a foreign language!

Anyway, I will continue with the reviews until the end since all I can find on the internet are Beachbody coaches trying to sell the other systems or supplements on the back of the name P90X2 without any knowledge of the content, it’s incredibly frustrating so call this a public service!

Warmup is the same as most other P90X2 workouts:

Warmup:
Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch foot switch

Workout (Extended Warmup Transition):

Dumbbell Squat Press – Or Thrusters if you talk Crossfit
Mountain Climber – Elbow plank on stability ball, knees alternate in to ball in a run
Water Break
Sphinx to Plank Plyo Bounce – Go from elbows to hands on stability ball (don’t step)
1 Leg Plyo Squat Reach –  Squat on 1 leg, come up to hop and reach up
Russian Twist –  Mason Twists with med ball between knees, one dumbbell in hands. Move knees opposite way.
Sphinx To Plank Roll Up – Same as 1st exercise but roll up to hands from elbows
4 Direction 1 Leg Squat Hop – Hop, touch foot, hop to next quadrant of 4
Forearm Alternating Side Plank – On stability ball with elbow, reach opposite arm to the ceiling and hold
Water Break
Decline Sphinx Plank Press – Feet on stability ball in elbow plank, push to high plank
Weighted Katherine – Mary Katherines holding dumbbell at your side. Do not switch or go overhead like Killer Katherines.
Plank X Crunch – Fron plank, lift arm and opposite leg then bring the lifted elbow and knee to touch
Renegade Row 1/2 Lolasana – From plank on dumbbells lift right db to chest, lift left db to chest then jump in to balance on the dumbbells like a crazy in and out but with your feet off the floor (Yes, it is as insane as it sounds, and no LOLing!)
Glute Bridge Roll Out – Feet on stability ball with straight legs, back and  hips off ground. Roll ball in towards your butt and back.
Over/Under Boat – In V sit with towel or bands across hips, bring feet in and circle your bands around your feet and into your butt and then back. Requires good flexibility and/or no belly!
Water Break
Warrior Row Press – From Warrior 3 with a single dumbbell row to chest, stand up and press
Split Lunge – Standing lunge with rear foot on top of stability ball
Crawly Crab Press – Support shoulders on stability ball, crab step to left and come up onto right elbow, raising hips and arm (or dumbbell) to ceiling. Repeat other side, by crabbing across to right then raising up.
Lateral Plyo Pushup – One hand on med ball, do a pushup then switch to opposite hand.
Lunge Kneel Knee Raise – From a one knee kneel with dumbbells in hands at your shoulders bring your rear knee forwards and up to a knee raise while pressing dumbbells overhead.
X Plank Spider Twist – From high plank kick right leg through under body and touch the toe with your left hand. Repeat other side, once you have done one of each, go down to elbow plank and repeat. Repeat both for 30s.
Water Break
Dumbbell Row To Side Plank – Just like it sounds, from plank on dumbbells, raise one arm up twards the ceiling until arm is straight then repeat other side.
Dumbbell Super Burpee – Pushup burpee with dumbbells on 1 leg
Plank Ball Crunch – With shins on stability ball and hands on floor, bring feet in towards body until toes are on the ball and your knees are in yo’ face!

Cool Down
 

 

 

 

P90X2 – X2 Yoga Review (67 Minutes)

The best news about P90X2 was that the Yoga workout wasn’t going to be 90 minutes any more. I’ts pretty common knowledge that most P90X fans found some way around doing the full 90 either by replacing it with something else, cutting the workout short or skipping it altogether. It’s now been cut down to 67 minutes which may still be too long for some, but it moves slowly and is pretty engaging.

Reviewing this may be tough, the list for P90X Yoga was extremely long and really not that helpful due to the massive repetition. Let’s see how this goes.

As with many of the P90X2 workouts, there are more balance facets to this workout, it seems as though the team over at BB has finally realized the value of balance and power together!

Mountain Pose and Stretch – This is the warmp for yoga, neck stretching, side bends, forward fold, rear grasp forward fold and of course arm circles and swingers to loosen the sholders.

Sun Salutation A – Arch back to front fold, step back to plank, 5 pushups, legs on floor to cobra, back to child pose. Rest. Come up to down dog to stretch calves, up onto toes step in to forward fold and stand. Tony picks up the tempo but it’s a little different than the first section. Stand to forward fold, jump back to plank, up dog, down dog, up to toes, jump in stand up and two inhales. This is repeated another 2 times for 4 total.
Sun Salutation B – Chair pose (30s),  step (or jump) back to up dog, into down dog, raise one heel, come up on toe, reach knee to same elbow, back to heel up, reach knee in to oppopsite elbow. Next go back to heel up and then reach leg to the outside, knee straight and try to touch knee to same side elbow. Come up to warrior 1 and back into plank to repeat the sequence for the other leg. Once done, go through the vinyasa (push up to up dog, through to down dog) then jump feet in to get back into chair pose. From chair pose, repeat the entire sequence again. The difference is that in the next 3 rounds of this Salutation, you do not repeat the knees to elbows, just go from heel lift to step through to runners pose and continue.

Break in child’s pose

Section 2 – There isn’t a name for this section but the order is this:
Downward Dog
Crescent Pose
Warrior 3
Half Moon
Reverse Half Moon
Standing Split
Crunch Raises – Just bring knee to chin and back to needle (standing split)
Squat Prayer (Pre-crane) and into Crane for 30s (second round is an optional handstand)

Repeat Section 2 for other side

Break in child’s pose

Section 3
Crescent
Warrior 1
Warrior 2 – Reach to floor with front hand 5 times
Triangle Pose
Reverse Warrior
Bound Warrior  – One arm under leg, one around back and link hands
Runners Pose down to elbows
Single Hamstring Stretch – on one knee or front splits
Runners Pose to chataranga to down dog

Repeat Section 3 for other side

Break in child’s pose

Abs Section

Yogi Bicycles – Laying bicyles but extend the leg after you touch elbow
Abrinome or laying rainbow
Split Leg Reach Crunch – Crunch to middle with straddle legs up towards ceiling
Bridge and Wheel – One of shoulder bridge, full bridge or bridge with leg raise
Happy Baby – single leg and double
Roll Like A Ball – Knees to chest, roll back and forward
Frog – 60s
Pigeon – 60s. Included is a demo of double pigeon and Happy Cow
Sitting Forward Bend – 30s
Plow To Shoulder Stand – From straight shoulder stand to straddle, to feet together, to one leg over to the floor, to both legs over
Spinal Stretch – Lay flat, bring one knee up to chest, and push it over to the opposite side floor
Shavasana – Corpse Pose
Fetal Position
Cross Legged Position – Just one OHM this time!


 

 

 

P90X2 – X2 Total Body Review

This workout starts with the standard warmup:

Warmup:
Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch foot switch

In addition, there are a couple of extras this time around:

Table – A staple for shoulder stretching
Scapular Retraction – can be done on a chin up bar or with bands, extend the shoulders up and out from the sockets then pull back and together with the shoulder blades

Then it’s time for the workout:

1 Arm Chest Press On Stability Ball – With shoulders on the ball, hips up, press weight straight up.
4 position pullup – Wide, palms in, narrow and reverse, do 1 of each and repeat
 Push Up Side Arm Balance – Hands on med balls, push up into one arm balance, opposite arm towards ceiling
Switch Lunge Press – Same leg lunge forwards then back with dumbbell press in lunge position. Rear lunge includes a rotation of weights but they don’t press in that position so it’s pretty useless
Warrior 3 kickback – In Warrior 3 position, do double tricep kickbacks with single leg
Warrior 3 curl – Use opposite leg, do curls in W3
Water Break
Boing Pushup – on stability ball do pushup then bring ball off the ground
Crunchy Lever Pullup – Hang on bar, bring knees up to tuck and chin to bar. Rotate backwards until knees are under the bar, rotate back so chin comes back to bar. Half a skin the cat with a pullup…
Mule Kick Burpee – Start standing, put both hands on the floor, kick heels back and up like donkey kick landing in plank, toach alternate knees to elbows with pushups inbetween then pop back to feet.
Swimmers Curl Press In 1/2 Chair – Curl to press while standing on 1 leg with opposite foot resting on standing knee
Balance Kickback On Stability Ball –  Tricep kick back while balancing on elbow on stability ball
Rocket Launcher Preacher Curl – Curls in forward lunge position
Water Break – HALF WAY POINT

The second half of the workout is a duplicate of the first.

Cool Down – 8 minutes.
 

P90X2 X2 Recovery + Mobility Review

As odd as it might sound, this workout is the keystone of the P90X2 system. You do this workout twice a week if you choose not to rest instead. It’s a great deal better in my opinion than the X Stretch workout and if used as recommended will keep you in great shape with regards to flexibility and muscular suppleness. The difference is the mobility aspect of the workout, something that was conspicuous by it’s absence from P90X.

Sun Salutations – Starting with a mini Yoga section including breathing, hamstring stretching and up and down dog.
Leg Swing – A well knows ballistic stretch to soccer players. Basically swinging leg forward and backwards and side to side with the leg straight.
Step Back Lunge Twist – Using weighted bar step back into lunge while holding the bar out in front and twisting your body away from the back leg.
Squat Press – Squat down, press up, stand up
Single Leg Touch Down – Stand on one leg and reach down with opposite arm to touch the baby toe.
Foam Rolling – Just like the daily warm up, a section of foam rolling the bodyparts. This is a 20 minute section of basic foam rolling, a great skill to master for relief of tight muscles.
Next is a repeat of the previous sections
Step Back Lunge Twist – Using weighted bar step back into lunge while holding the bar out in front and twisting your body away from the back leg.
Squat Press – Squat down, press up, stand up
Single Leg Touch Down – Stand on one leg and reach down with opposite arm to touch the baby toe.
Vinyasa to Pigeon – A yoga section providing a stretch for the piriformis and ITB area
Frog – Same as P90X frog, baiscally middle splits on your knees
Hamstring Stretch – Seated toe reaches
Roller Angel – Laying lengthwise on the roller allowing the arms to fall down to the floor
Shavasana Foam Roller – Corpse pose with roller supporting your whole spinal column

P90X2 Schedule – The Complete Listing

If you are looking for the P90X2 Workout Sheets they are HERE.

P90X2 is divided into 3 phases plus a rest week. The thinking is that you can do the weekly rotation of 5 days as long as you wish (3-6 weeks) and then throw in a rest week when you think you need it. I suppose the people who are P90X graduates will gravitate towards doing a 3 week on with one week rest just as they did for P90X which will result in a 90 day program. The three phases are:

P90X2 Foundation Phase

Not foundation as in “base training” but as in your attachment to the earth. Working on the “you can’t shoot a canon from a canoe” philosophy the aim of this program is to build you from the ground up. You may think you have a good base from P90X but, I assure you, we are going to find some weak areas and improve them. The two major areas of weakness in the human body, which leads to probably 90% of sports injuries, are shoulder and hip instability. Solve this and non-contact injuries will virtually disappear.

P90X2 Strength Phase

This will feel more familiar to most of you as it’s similar in structure to P90X. The workouts, however, will keep your body evolving. Functional is the key difference as almost every movement is done from an athletic position designed to improve your body’s ability to move better.

P90X2 Performance Phase

Finally we’ll take what we’ve learned and target your engrams (neuromuscular patterns) to fire efficiently. At this stage we leave “do you best and forget the rest” behind. We’re now walking a razor’s edge of human performance. Push your body to 100% with perfect form. When your form fails, you’re done. The force loads are excessive but the philosophy here is that if you can’t handle force in a controlled situation you won’t be able to handle it when it’s forced upon you.

As for the weekly schedule, it breaks down like this:

Phase 1 – Foundation:

1. X2 Core
2. Plyocide
3. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
4. X2 Total Body + X2 Ab Ripper
5. X2 Yoga
6. X2 Balance and Power
7. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility

Phase 2 – Strength:

1. Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper
2. Plyocide
3. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
4. X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper
5. X2 Yoga
6. Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper
7. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility

Phase 3 – Performance:

1. PAP Lower
2. PAP Upper
3. X2 Yoga
4. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
5. PAP Lower
6. PAP Upper
7. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility

Recovery Week:

1. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
2. X2 Yoga
3. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
4. X2 Yoga
5. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
6. X2 Yoga
7. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility

P90X2 – X2 Ab Ripper Review

I haven’t had the pleasure yet, but all of these moves I have done before with Insanity, P90X, Asylum or in my own bootcamp class so I can’t imagine it will be technically challenging. It’s a really great variety of movements though. It doesn’t have the intensity of the Ab Ripper, it seems more user friendly but honestly the  thing I liked about Ab Ripper was Tony getting all wound up about it!

Scissor Twist – 20 – Laying scissors touching opposite foot
Row Your Boat – 20 – Like Crunchy frog but with rowing motion not fly
Superman Banana X – 20 – superman banana in X position
Oblique Roll Crunch – 20 – Same as side crunches but switch sides each rep
Roll V Hold – 20 – V sit then grab hamstrings, roll back, roll up to V sit hold
Abrinome – 10 – Rainbow legs. Lay with legs up 90 degrees, wipe from side to side like windshield wipers or a rainbow
Gate Bridge Lift – 10 – Just simple leg lift with straddle at bottom
Phelon Twist – 10 – Sit with legs straight and together, fold arms across belly and lean back to 45 degrees and twist. Hold twist position then twist opposite way and hold
Scissor Clapper – 30 – V Sit scissors with clap under each leg as you switch
Tornado – 20 – Laying position with feet straight up at 90 degrees, circle feet with straight legs
Balance Bike Crunch – 20 – bicycles alternating knee to elbows but in v sit position. Modified move is just laying bicycle switch.

R9D2 – P90X2 – Plyocide Review

It’s Friday today, if I get home early enough I will complete this bad boy, if not, it will have to wait until tomorrow since I have to coach today.

This morning I felt great after X2 Core yesterday, my knot in my back is gone, thanks to the foam rolling I guess. The workout wasn’t that hard, I do lots of that kind of stuff for my bootcamp but there was enough technical challenge for me to stay focused. I guess being in shape already it’s not supposed to be brutal, but more of a technical exercise anyway. I am sure Plyocide won’t be such a pushover. I am reviewing it here as a log of the movements done, I will report back tomorrow or maybe during the weekend as to exactly how much of a challenge it is!

For plyocide you need all the regular stuff, a foam roller, mat, water and in addition an X taped on the floor and also if you have it a plyo box to do box jumps and so on.

The warmup is the same pretty much as X2 Core, and just like P90X the warmups are probably all going to be pretty standard.

Warmup:
Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch foot switch

The Plyocide Workout:

Wide leg tiptoe squat – Simple wide squat up to tip toes 35 reps
Killer Katherine Lunge – Mary Katherines with med ball side to side, first at hip height then overhead
Fast Feet Chair Jump – Football fast feet with jumps added in
Slalom Line jump – jump over your taped line and back in a slalom forward then back
Water Break
Warrior 3 lunge – W3 back to lunge then back to W3
Jack In The Box Knee Tuck – Touch floor to tuck jump
Think Drill – wide feet football run with occasional sets and stance and arm changes
Spartan Squat Lunge – Squat touching opposite foot, jump into lunge and raise arm overhead. Do both sides!
Water Break
Super Skater Kicks – Exactly what it sounds like!
Depth Charge – Use plyo box, step up, jump down far side then straight jump.
Frog Burpee Hop – burpee with tuck jump
1 leg slalom – hopping slalom
Water Break
1 leg squat – Not pistols, just squat touch floor
Surfer Spin – Jump turns. Start with 2 half turns, then try full turns
Power 90 Cross Hop – Use taped cross and hop across quadrants then switch to other 2 quadrants
Wide Leg Jump Press With Med Ball – Like the X jump but with a med ball
Water Break
Launcher Lunge – With med ball, shelf stacker lifting non loaded leg away from body
Toe Tap 360 – Tap toes on med ball on floor, work all around the ball
Flying Fighter Kicks – scissor front kick followed with back kick
Set Sprint Plank Plyo Jump – Football set to high knee sprint to plank to plyo pushup to jump. Tony calls the order, you follow!

10 Minute Cool Down

This looks pretty intense and I am looking forward to the challenge!