P90x Reflection

I was really excited to try p90x out last summer, it being the beachbody program that 'everybody owns but nobody finishes' according to my sister.  Her husband, in the airforce, tried it and stopped saying it was 'too hard.'  So I wanted to do the program and show everyone that I could finish it.  At this pont, I'd already done SI6, Chalean Extreme, and Insanity, so I really wasn't worried about sticking to the program.  I chose to do the doubles version, which adds a cardio workout along w/ the regular classic schedule.

Some thoughts on the program in general:  Variety!  This program though it doesn't have as much variety in workouts as some of the others I've done, it has way more variety then say SI6 or Insanity. I have a hard time doing the same workouts over and over, so the variety of workouts was a plus for me.  True to what I'd heard, this workout was tough.  I can't do pull ups so I use the bands for those.  Push-ups are also a huge struggle for me.  But I loved the legs, shoulders, and arm workouts, along w/ the kenpo.  I enjoyed plyo as well, except compared to anything in Insanity it was soooooooo slow.  However for most ppl, this is probably a better starting point w/ plyo  than rushing right into insanity :)  I did have good results w/ the program.  I gained a couple lbs the first month which I'm thinking was due to muscle and water.  The last month I lost 10 lbs the last 2 weeks of the program, and a total of 10 inches.

My complaints of the program would have to be the length.  I did it in the summer just because I knew I'd have more time.  But each workout was about an hour long with Yoga being an hour and a half.  Speaking of Yoga, I honestly HATED that workout and only got through the disc probably 2 times.  I was very new to yoga and for some reason dont have the patience for it.  So 93 minutes was excruciating for me.  I did enjoy the last half if I could ever get through the first. Yes I do realize the importance of yoga and I make sure I get in at least some, but I'd prefer Chalene's stretch 40 any day.  I'm glad I was already committed to working out when I started p90x. The videos being so long, time consuming, and it really gets you sore, I could see why a lot of ppl start but never finish.  As for Tony Horton himself, he's definitely in good shape and he's put together a great workout.  His weight lifting technique is different from Chalene's which really aggravated me especially at first, but I'm always resistant to change :)  He's very corny and just talks and talks and talks and jokes throughout the entire videos. Some people love his jokes, to me I'm reminded of 11 yr old boys.  I'm a Chalene girl all the way though, I love the way she motivates throughout her workouts so anyone has a hard time competing against her.
Bottom line, is p90x a great program? Yes definitely!  Does it work? If you put the time (definitely a big commitment here) and effort you will for sure get results.  For a beginner? It's possible but I'd recommend something a little less time consuming to start out w/.  Am I glad I did it? for sure, and I'm enjoying it more this time around in the hybrid w/ TurboFire and Insanity.  Weird how for me, I'm liking Insanity less than the first time and p90x more.

~ShortTeacher83~