Mommyburgh - Fitness & Motherhood: September 2014

THE BIG QUESTION!!!!!!

I get it a lot when a new program from a popular trainer comes out... why? Why do another program? Won't it basically be the same as the rest of their programs? What more can he really teach me?

As someone who not only owns most of the stuff from Beachbody and has tried a lot of the programs... P90 is very different from the rest of Tony Horton's library.

I started doing P90X about a year and a half ago. I was met with a lot of resistance, a lot of people told me it was too hard. Honestly? It was. It was tough! I made it through the 90 days, barely, but in the end I still accomplished my goal... I lost weight and felt great!

BUT!

Could I have used something to springboard myself into the program? YES! I was able to do a lot of the exercises because I was pretty athletic my entire life, I was just lazy during my pregnancies and gained a lot of weight. However, it was still really hard. To be able to jump in and just do push ups, pull ups, jumping, squats, lifting weights... it is all a bit much. I saw what everyone was telling me before I started.

I tried P90X3 thinking the shorter workouts would help. That means doing less stuff right?? Well it was still really hard, just in a shorter amount of time.

Tony has a system. He does not really have a modifier, he just tells you how to modify each move, but never really shows you how to do it. He assumes, that if you are doing this program, you are healthy and able enough to handle it.

Here is where the differences come!!!!!!

1.Like P90X3, the workouts are a lot shorter than P90X.

They range from 25 minutes to 45 minutes

If you asked Tony back when he made P90X is someone could get fit working out for 30 minutes a day, I bet he would say no. However, since he made P90X3 he has really changed his mind. Why? Because he knows how to pack in the right stuff in a shorter amount of time. Plus there are a lot less breaks! Slow pace of P90X? Gone.

2. Less time but more thoughtful.

He may be crunching everything into shorter workouts, but his approach is a lot more thoughtful. Back in P90X he was more into TELLING you what to do, and expecting you to do it, much like a football coach during practice. Now? He takes his time to explain things and move with the camera to show you how each person is doing the moves. He isn't trying to torture them, but to show the viewer that there are multiple roads from point A to point B.

3. The plan is a little different.

P90X had one big calendar on workouts of follow. You could choose 3 different paths to take, but there weren't really levels.

In P90 he has a map laid out for you. Start slow and learn the basics, and build from there. Sort of like Shaun T's T25.

You get an A, B, and C group and as you advance, the moves advance. If you need to stay with A, go for it. He makes it really easy to stay at your own pace if you are recovering from injury... or moving on if you really want to get the most out of the program.

4. The modifications.

I don't really remember too many modifications in P90X. There were bands instead of pull ups and weights, or there really wasn't much else. He breezed through each move, and by the time I was able to struggle through a few push ups on my knees, they were done and writing down their numbers.

P90 is completely different. He basically bases the whole program around modifications. From showing you the moves BEFORE you get started, to having the camera go to each person and talk about form, Tony really slows down and makes sure he is on EVERYONE'S level.