Thursday, February 12, 2009

P90x Reviews - Core Synergistics


The P90x Core Synergistics workout is unlike any other workout I have ever done. It challenged me and my muscles in a very different and very affective way. This workout is 57 minutes and 27 seconds long, so it almost goes for a good hour. It is a total body workout, although you will probably feel it most in your abdominal section the next day. This P90x workout focuses mostly on developing the muscles around your waistline and your lower back, which is also know as your core muscles. but you will also be challenged in your flexibility, balance, and strength. The reason why there is such a huge hype about your core muscles is because they are the supporting muscles. Those muscles support your back, and spine, if you develop those muscles you can prevent injury while working out, and injuries in the future. You will also be challenged mentally, because the moves that you do in this workout, are not necessarily hard to do, but you will find yourself sweating and becoming exhausted because the exercises are just so different.

There is not to much stretching in the beginning of this workout like other P90x workouts, but they do start off with marching in place, running in place, jumping jacks, run lunges, and then Tony does some legs stretches to finish it the warm up off. The P90x Core Synergistics workouts has some different type of push ups for you, I am not gonna go into detail on how to perform these push ups, but they target different type of muscles than your more popular push ups. The Prison Cell push ups will give you a great workout and will definitely tire you out. Another exercise is call Plank to Chaturanga Run, it is like doing mountain climbers, but then you drop down so your chest is barley off the ground and continue running. It is very difficult but fun to do. There are also some very challenging lunges in this workout. Towards the end when you are tired and sweating, they have you do an exercises called Lunge Kickback Curl Press. You do 20 reps, and if this does not get your heart pumping and the sweat just dripping out of your body then you are probably doing it wrong. The reason why it is so affective is because you have to do it for so long, but it is great. There are 20 great workouts in this p90x routine, and there is even a bonus round if you want to do 3 more minutes of pressing. So enjoy this workout.

Monday, February 09, 2009

P90x Reviews - X Stretch



It is time to do a review on the P90x X Stretch workout. Now technically this is not really a workout, you probably will not even break a sweat with this workout, but it is still very crucial to the P90x workout program. Stretching is very important to keep you loose and flexible, stretching will also help you prevent injury. This is not made to be a normal P90x workout, for the most part you will only be doing this workout during the recovery weeks, but you do have the option of doing the X stretch on Sundays or what day your rest days fall on. You probably are thinking, "What is the difference between Yoga and X stretch?" Well there is a huge difference! Yoga WILL make you sweat, you will find yourself in very difficult positions and balancing poses. What P90x X Stretch does is even though it does have some Yoga stretches in it, X Stretch does not nearly put you through the strain that Yoga puts you through. Where in Yoga you do stretches that you have never seen before, X Stretch has more stretches in it that you will be more familiar with. P90x X Stretch will challenge you, but that is because holding onto stretches can be discomforting at points. The P90x X stretch routine is around 57 minutes long and you will be stretching the whole time.

I really enjoyed the X Stretch workout, it does exactly what it is intended to do. It is made to me a nice workout that you can do while your body is recovering. With all the workouts that are focused on building your muscles, it is important to have a stretch workout like this one to help your muscles to not tighten up and remain flexible through the process. There are a couple of key areas that you will be focusing on. The main area for me are my hamstrings. I love and hate the hamstring section in this routine, because my hamstrings are always so tight, but I love the feeling that I get after I stretch them out. With the hamstrings you start off on the ground by focusing on one leg at a time, after doing each leg, you do both legs at the same time. Then after that you stand up and continue to do more Hamstring exercises. Tony Horton really does like to focus a lot on the Hamstrings because it tends to be one of the most tightest parts of the body.

Probably my favorite Stretch routine is the roller, You start off on the ground and you wrap your arms around your knees, and then you just roll on your spine. Roll all the way to the bottom of your spine to your shoulders, it really does feel good. As Tony says, "It is like a massage for your spine." The one I struggle with the most is probably the Plough, it is an advance stretch, and it is also in the Yoga routine. You pretty much have your legs straight up in the air like you are doing a head stand but you are on your shoulders. You stick your legs straight up until Tony tells you to start lowering them back over your head, until your toes hit the floor or if you are like me, as far as you can go. You then bend your knees down by your head. It really is extremely hard to explain, you are just going to have to do it, to understand what I am talking about.

Out of all the P90x exercise videos this one is the most relaxing workout.

Friday, February 06, 2009

P90x Reviews - Back and Biceps


Today's Review in on the P90x Back and Biceps routine, this routine is about 52 minutes long, so it is actually one of the shorter workouts that you will be doing. The great thing about this workout is that you can use it to get size or you can use it to get toned. So if you do not want size or if you are a lady that is using the p90x program, you can just lighten the load and do more reps, so you can get that nice toned look.

Before you being this workout, you should know that this is a "no repeat" workout. Which is nice because you will be doing something different the whole time. It keeps it interesting. That also mean, and Tony Horton will explain this, is that your last 3 reps should be difficult to do. So make sure you find a weight that gives you the best workout, and do not be afraid to switch out weights either. if you are looking for size you want to focus in getting around eight to ten reps, if you want to get toned then you should go for a weight that you do 12 - 15 reps. To do this workout properly you need a chin up bar or resistance bands with the upgrade kit, and dumbbells. Keep in mind that you can use resistance bands as a substitute for dumbbells or a chin up bar if you have the upgrade kit.

There are a couple of workouts that I want to focus on from the P90x Back and Biceps routine. For the most part this workout consists of pulls ups and curls, but there are some very different pull ups that I personally have never done. One of them is called a Corn Cob Pull-up. You use a wide grip over hand position, you pull yourself up and then slide to your right hand and then slide to your left hand,you then come to the center and push yourself away from the bar and then back to center. Performing the move is as difficult as explaining it, but it works great. There is also another pull up called a Towel Pull-up. Put one hand on the bar and with the other hand you grasp a towel that is wrapped around the bar, you then precede to do normal pull ups and then switch hands ever three pull ups. It definitely works out your muscles in a different way.

There are some great workouts in this p90x routine. This was one of my favorite workouts that I did. You really feel how much work your biceps got from the routine after you are done.