P90X2 DVD Workout - Base Kit

Normally sequels are just a ploy to make more money for the makers and offer little if not nothing in value to the buyers. Not this thing. It is truly amazing how much value it adds to the original p90x.p90x is one of the best exercise systems out there and in my experience a life changing regimen for those who have had the pleasure of attempting and completing it. It truly changes how you feel about yourself and your body. I am not a Beach Body promoter or anything. I have done Beast, P90X, 2, Insanity and love them all. I just love their programs because they give you the flexibility of working out at home at your time and they are also very reasonably priced as well.This article is more a description of the program than a review because I know each one of you will have thier own opinion about the program.The flow of the program is a little different than the original. It is 90 days long and is based on muscle confusion. It is not boring and is designed to offer you flexibility. Now you can do the phases to anywhere from 3 up to 6 weeks a phase.These phases are divided in the following manner:Phase 1 – Foundation, 3-5 weeksPhase 2 – Strength, 3-6 weeksPhase 3 – Performance, 3-4 weeksRecovery WeekWhen you buy the system, it comes with the dvds, the workout schedule and a special instructional guide. I did not follow the nutrition plan but it is important that food recommendations are followed. Food is as important as fitness. I didn't follow the food plan but ate sensibly and cut my portion sizes. I did drink a protein smoothie and lately started taking creatine but I am worried about the impact on the body and not yet sure about the results. Even though I did not take the supplements and nutritional shakes I have seen reults . What I did have to was buy some equipment. The program recommends that we buy a Stability Ball, (2) 8-lb Medicine and a foam roller. I bought all these but not from the Beachbody store. I recommend buying these but the exercise can still be done without these things.This is the suggested breakdown of the exercise schedulePhase 1 – Foundation (3 to 6 weeks) mainly core and balanceDay 1: X2 CoreDay 2: PlyocideDay 3: Rest OR X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 4: X2 Total Body & X2 Ab RipperDay 5: X2 YogaDay 6: X2 Balance + PowerDay 7: Rest OR X2 Recovery + MobilityPhase 2 – Strength (3 to 6 weeks)Day 1: Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab RipperDay 2: PlyocideDay 3: Rest or X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 4: X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab RipperDay 5: X2 YogaDay 6: Base + Back & X2 Ab RipperDay 7: Rest or X2 Recovery + MobilityPhase 3 – Performance (3 to 4 weeks)Day 1: P.A.P. LowerDay 2: P.A.P. UpperDay 3: X2 YogaDay 4: Rest OR X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 5: P.A.P. LowerDay 6: P.A.P. UpperDay 7: Rest or X2 Recovery + MobilityRecovery Week (whenever needed)Day 1: X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 2: X2 YogaDay 3: X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 4: X2 YogaDay 5: X2 Recovery + MobilityDay 6: X2 YogaDay 7: Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobity.Brief descriptions of the workoutsX2 core will help you in all the other workouts because it targets all the kinks and shaky parts.. It is 56 minutes long but still very easy to do ( atleast I thought that way). You do spend a few minutes about 8 with the from roller. I think it was a waste of time at the beginning but all the rubbing and rolling works out wonders later. The actual exercise component is about 38 minutes. This is a easy work out but the heart beat is high and you will feel the soreness the next morning in the core.In P90x we did Plyometrics, I guess this is the brother of Plyometrics . The Plyocide workout is very very hard and fast paced. Be prepared and get a mega large dose of cardio. This is not an easy workout but the exercises are pretty fun to do with many new interesting moves. This workout also helps us with endurance which translates to many areas of life.X2 Recovery + Mobility – this is workout which is the recovery and is very relaxing.. This is a stretch workout and most of it is done with the help of the foam roller. When I started using the roller it was painful but soon I started getting used to it and it was helpful to take away all the knots and kinks from the muscles and relieve pressure.X2 Total Body This is 62 minutes which helps with form and focus and helps with resistance moves. This workout has two rounds of 12 exercices each. This is a super fun workout that burns up a lot of calories. Some moves are easy in this workout and some are hard but trust me you will learn to enjoy this one.X2 Yoga remember the 90 minute long yoga workout in P90x, that is history. Instead this one is only a hour but still as intense.X2 Balance + Power – as the name says, this one works on strength and balance. I liked it but had difficulty with some of the moves. When I do the program again I am hoping that some of the moves will get better. They always do.Chest + Back + Balance – This workout will focus on your chest and back muscles. You’ll be doing a lot of moves on very unstable platforms.X2 Shoulders + Arms – This is shoulders and arms.Base + Back – legs and back.A lot of pull ups in this one.P.A.P. Lower –lower body while utilizing Post Activation Potentiation training. PAP is as best as I can explain this the way Tony says it i.e. its not just making you body look pretty but also improving your performance.P.A.P. Upper – Will work your upper body while utilizing Post Activation Potentiation training.X2 Ab Ripper –A newer version of ab ripper X.As the original program, this one is also a great workout program. A life and body changer...highly recommended. Five stars but deserves many more.

This will be an abbreviated review- this program is an interesting entry into the beach body canon of workout chillers. It's a lot of next generation stuff; as someone who's completed it I have to say it's very different from its predecessor. I'll describe this by example- my example; I did two rounds of the original P90X. It got me out of some bad repetitive workout habits; I lived on a plateau. I had a routine I did that was just so-so, didn't really leave me anywhere I'd describe as fit but not out of shape. So after two rounds of P90X I was in the best shape of my life; the indicative high-water mark of this routine for me is my performance during Ab Ripper X. The most I'd ever done in the Mason Twist was 46 by the end. After one round of P90X2 my overall athleticism was noticeably improved; I went back to the comfortable baseline that was P90X and while I struggled through Chest and Back like we all did when we started, Ab Ripper was the best performance I'd ever had; blew past 50 mason twists, arms up whenever I could. Plyo was substantially easier. So my point in writing all of this; I feel P90X is a great boot camp for getting into shape, I feel P90X2 is a longer gameplan. This program I feel I could do perpetually, strength with occassional recovery week and PAP interruptions, and not only maintain the shape I got into with P90X, but exceed it. The Chest Back and Balance routine, for example, is humbling; after completing P90X2 I am still not matching the cast of the video in performance; these resistance routines leave a lot of room for growth; more than the 5 weeks I gave myself. Tony Horton describes this a functional fitness, "life fitness". He's probably right, this program seems more sustainable for developing a healthier lifestyle.

I've done P90X twice in the last few years, and the exercises from them thousands of times, so I was very excited when '2' came out. I was bored of P90X's exercises and was looking forward to trying new things.The first week I was thinking that it was too easy. I didn't get any muscles that were exhausted - just pretty much my whole body was slightly achy. However, it does force you to work on your core - something that I apparently hadn't done enough of. I started seeing improvements that I hadn't seen before. I ended up doing this round for 4 weeks and enjoying it. During this round he constantly used the phrase 'functional fitness', and I think that's what this did - it doesn't get your pecs or biceps bigger, but it gets you stronger all around.The second round of exercises is the most like the P90X, except a lot of stability stuff is added. It's split very similarly to arms/back/legs/yoga/plyo. I don't think I saw as much gains doing this than P90X, but I am far more aware of my balance and core muscles now.The last round is like plyo on crack. 3 weeks of plyo on crack. Even after doing the first two rounds I couldn't get through the first DVD without a lot of pauses. Near the end I could definitely tell this thinned me up and made me stronger.Overall, if you have to choose between P90X and P90X2, I'd choose P90X. Honestly the only reason this gets 4 stars is because it's getting compared to P90X.Oh! Finally, I was confused about what equipment I'd need, so let me clear that up for people: NEED: * 3 medicine balls. The true, hard medicine balls, not the soft ply-able ones. * Stability Ball * Foam Roller. It's weird, but it does seem to work. * Pullup bar or bands. * Weights. WANT: * Foam mat for yoga. * Yoga block. * Pullup assist NAH: * Plyo stands. Expensive, and not used too often. Can be replaced with stairs or a workout bench. * Weighted bar. Used twice I think. Useful, but go find a broomstick and you'll get 90% of the way there.