P90X2 Review Part 2 – Total Body Workout

The journey continues with the second installment of the P90X2 review.

Well, so far so good…

From what I’ve seen so far, the P90X2 program will be every bit as painful as the original P90X (but in a good way).

However, the ‘Foundation Phase’ is much more focused on balance and core area than the original program.

The P90X2 ‘Total Body Workout’ helps build a good sense of balance and a strong core while lifting in a number of unstable positions.

Read on for the review.

Structure

The X2 Total Body workout is structured much like the Phase 1 ‘Chest and Back’ workout from P90X.

You perform 6 different moves, take a break, then 7 new moves and take another break. After that, you repeat it the entire series over again (woo-hoo!).

Equipment

You’ll find that some additional equipment is needed as part of the X2 Total Body workout; this is a change from the original P90X program that just required weights and a simple pull-up bar.

For the most part, Tony and the gang provide enough variation to allow you to do all the moves without a lot of extra equipment.

Unfortunately, you won’t get the full benefit from the workout without a medicine ball and stability ball (big plastic blow-up ball). However, both of these are fairly cheap at your local Walmart.

Learning to stand on one foot

For most of the moves of X2 Total Body, you’ll find yourself struggling to maintain balance. You’re either lying on the fitness ball, standing on one foot, or in a lunge position.

Trying to stand on one foot while lifting weights is an interesting experience. It took me a few attempts at this workout to keep from dropping my other foot during the one legged moves.

And it’s not simply lifting a foot. You’ll find yourself on one leg in the ‘Warrior 3’ position (leaning forward, back leg parallel with the floor) doing triceps kick-backs, and curls. Trust me, you’ll want to lower the weight while learning the moves.

Other moves include presses while lunging forward and back, as well as Preacher Curls while lunging forward. Again, simple moves made more difficult as you’re off balance.

Balancing on balls

The fitness ball is used for a couple of exercises. The first exercise in the series is the ‘One Arm Press’, where you lay on the ball and lift with one side then the next. Again, a balance move that seriously engages the core.

While I had no problem with this one, the ‘Balance Kick-back on Stability Ball’ nearly killed me. Laying with an elbow on the ball while trying to do triceps kick-backs with the other arm almost caused me to topple over. Remember to clench your glutes, and you should be okay.

Yet another balance move is the ‘Push-up Side Arm Balance.’ You may remember this one from P90X. Now you get to do it on medicine balls. As I only have one, I just shifted it from hand to hand. Kinda scary holding the move on the ball while trying to raise your arm.

By the way, Dreya’s back!

Anyone familiar with P90X has already met Dreya Weber, she’s “an actress, gymnast, aerialist…flys through the air with the greatest of ease.”

And yes, Tony is still hitting on her big-time.

Personally, I like Dreya, and she looks amazing in this workout, not overly muscled as in P90X.  She’s also lightened up, and actually acts kinda silly at times.

Summary

Not a bad full body workout, and it really ups the ante with doing everything off balance. I’m looking forward to getting the moves down over the next few weeks.

Keep checking back for the next entry, or better yet, sign up for automatic updates via email.

 

 

Tagged as: favs, Fitness, P90X2