This hilarious video demonstrates the “renegade row with 1/2 lolasana” move. I can’t do it but I love that this guy can! Even better though are his little girls’ modifications. But this is a good example of what I’m talking about: super creative, fun, really wish I could do it. Although you should have seen me go head-over-heels trying!
Gym Buddy Krista quit our P90X 2 Experiment a mere three weeks in. I blame the balls.
Let me back up. A month ago when we first started P90X 2 I was super excited. If you recall I loved P90X 1 and have been waiting for this one for months. All the Gym Buddies were really pumped but none moreso that Krista who has been begging for a serious butt-kicking for months now. She loves heavy lifting, brutal intervals and peanut butter cookies. (The last one has nothing to do with P90X but Krista’s PB cookies are pretty much the best I’ve ever had so I had to throw that in.) The Barre Experiment was… not her favorite.
P90X 2 showed up and we thought we’d be right back in heavy-lifting – and heavy-breathing – heaven. And we might have been, if we could have done the moves. Do you remember “the Impossible” push-up that Tony Horton challenged us with? (It’s a push-up with your feet on an exercise ball and your hands on a basketball.) Now imagine an entire workout of moves like that. Day after day.
At first we kind of laughed about it. The very first workout had us do a plyo push-up where you basically fall straight down from standing and land in a plank on the floor. It hurts. And not in a good way. In a I-just-broke-all-the-small-bones-in-my-wrist way. He offered a variation – fall from your knees instead of your feet – but my wrists were still in so much pain the next day. So we just swapped that move out for a different type of push-up and moved on.
But then came Boing Push-Ups and Plyometric Medicine Ball Push-Ups and Inverted Ball Push-Ups and 120 pull-ups in a single workout. It got to the point where we were subbing out nearly every single move in a few of the workouts. Which made us all wonder why we were even doing P90X 2 if we were basically just making up our own stuff for it 90% of the time.
Finally last Friday we did our first “chest, arms and balance” workout. We’ve rechristened it the falling down workout since that’s basically all we did for an hour. I am covered in bruises and carpet burns from how many times I ate it. It’s really disheartening to not be able to do any of the moves. They make it all look so easy on the videos – even the girl makes them look like a piece of cake [Edited to add: a couple of the commenters called me out for my bone-headed phraseology here and I agree. What I meant by this was that typically women don’t have as much upper body strength as men and yet the tough P90X girls were banging out pull-ups with the best of them. I am jealous of this, especially because I do sometimes use the excuse “I’m a girl, that’s why I can’t do 120 pull-ups” and now I don’t even have that!) – and yet in practice they’re really tricky. The hardest part is all the balancing on balls it requires. I believe I had my feet up on an exercise ball and each hand on a medicine ball trying to just balance, let alone do 12-20 push-ups, when Krista threw in the towel both literally and figuratively.
She explains, “I’m really disliking it and because the moves are so ridiculously [redacted], I’m constantly feeling like I’m gonna hurt myself OR I just don’t do it and I’m not getting a good workout. It’s like Tony is just trying to show off and doesn’t really mean for people to do the workouts. I feel bad cause I was really excited for this and was looking forward to it; however, after 2 weeks, I really dislike it and I’m not getting a good workout. If I was working out alone, I woulda quit a long time ago, but I didn’t wanna let you guys down. However, I don’t want to get hurt, so instead of doing everything low impact or different than it says, I’m just not going to do it very much. Hope you’re not too disappointed.”
I was disappointed. But not in Krista. I felt like I’d let her down by pushing her to try things that might injure her. Plus this marks the first time a Gym Buddy has ever quit mid-Experiment. Sometimes they whine a lot (heck, I do too) but they usually stick it out. Anyhow, Megan and I are sticking with P90X 2 (I remain hopeful that it will get better in Phase II!). Allison is doing her pregnant thing. Daria is generally up for whatever (she brought in CrossFit on Monday). And Krista has worked out her own schedule for the next few weeks.
Here’s What I Liked:
– Variety: Tony keeps things really funny and light as well as fast-paced. You will not get bored with this workout!
– Challenging: I love a good challenge. And I’m secretly hoping that all this ball stuff is going to get easier as I practice it.
– Creative: Think you’ve seen it all? I can guarantee you that some of these will be new to you.
– Tony Horton: He’s awesome and hilarious and completely ripped. (That man is 53!!!)
Here’s What I Didn’t Like:
– Injury pr0ne: One of my primary complaints about P90X 1 was how easy it was to get injured and P90X 2 is the same way.
– Overly creative: Novel moves are only fun if you have a prayer of executing them. I’m no super athlete but I don’t think I’m terribly wussy or weak either and there were quite a few moves I couldn’t even get close to doing, even with the modifications.
– No book: I know, I mentioned this already but I still really wish it had a book like the first one!
Any of you doing P90X2? How’s it going for you? How do you feel about new workout moves – do you love novelty or do you prefer to stick with what you know and do well? Any advice for me??
Oh no! I was thinking that if this experiment went well, I’d consider picking up this series of videos (I liked the idea of P90X but didn’t like the time commitment, but it sounded like P90x2 was shorter, but I could be wrong).
Anywhoo. . . yeah. Me + balls = impossible. After a year at the gym with massive improvements, I still can’t even do a simple pushup with my feet on a balance ball (I fall off, I have very poor balance), let alone anything else like what you’re describing. It sounds really frustrating!!
No tips or advice here, other than. . . sorry to hear this initial review! Good luck getting through Phase 2 – hopefully it gets better.
P.S. Do you ever see infomercials? Have you watched the Brazil Butt Lift one? Every.single.time it’s on, I have to resist the urge to order it immediately (I’m a total flat butt girl here no matter how many squats and lunges I do!). Beachbody infomercials are sooo addicting/convincing!
Yes, I find the Brazillian Butt Lift ads crazy addictive too! Gotta say I’ve tried them though (it was a few years ago) and they didn’t do much for me… As for time, P90X2 really isn’t shorter. I thought it would be but so far it feels about the same.
I think I’ve finally learned to listen to my body. This just wasn’t working out, and while I’m not “old” by any means…I’m not 20 anymore and my body just doesn’t work the same. Everything previously said, I totally woulda stuck it out if it were a typical one month workout like most…but 9 weeks of bouncing, falling, flipping and face planting off exercise balls…that’s pushing even a 20 something’s luck of not getting injured. At least I still get to exercise near you guys…and I get to observe the “blooper reel” instead of star it in!! :))
I agree with you, Krista; sounds like the man is just showing off. That half-lodassana thing in the video is a good example; it’s a variation of a static balance pose I’ve tried to do off-and-on for a couple of years and I still can’t do it. It’s an advanced yoga position that takes a lot of time and practice, and it just isn’t appropriate for a 9 week program.
I thought that looked familiar – it’s the one a few really advanced people in my yoga class do while I stare and go, “no fricking way!” And they have their hands flat on the floor, not wrapped around weights.
Yeah, I think it’s called The Crow or The Pigeon or something like that.
It’s crow that I believe you’re talking about (although there is a lolasana yoga pose as well) and I can do that one!!! I just can’t do it on top of weights and then keep my balance while kicking out behind me…
Bummer! It sounds so frustrating! The idea behind Beachbody, at least originally, was to create programs for “real” people. I bought my first Beachbody program in ’04, and have since bought a few others. I liked them because I could do them at home, while my son was at preschool And my daughter was napping. They didn’t take forever or require tons of equipment, and I got results.
These days it seems each new program is trying to outdo the previous one in terms of intensity and difficulty. I know I’ve mentioned that I hurt myself every time I tried to do the original P90X. Insanity was impossible, and Turbo Fire was annoying. I’ll stick to my earlier Beachbody programs and the types of workouts I know I like.
You guys are amazing! Good luck with the rest of the program, however you decide to do it (or not do it)!
Please be careful about injuries. I know of a man who was doing similar sorts of exercises and was balancing on an exercise ball, standing on it. He then fell off it, hit is head and is in a coma. He’s married with kids.
Fitness and exercise is good but some exercises are genuinely dangerous and that should be acknowledged. I don’t think I’d try out P90X 2. Going to stick with padwork and pilates.
Having said all this though, I don’t comment often but I read your blog regularly and always really enjoy it 🙂
I’m two weeks in to Phase II and Chest / Back / Balance remains the most difficult of the workouts in that Phase. And by the time I got to Base & Back at the end of the week I could no longer do pullups (even assisted!) 3/4 of the way into the workout. But that said – I’m getting some new muscle and building upper body strength (which includes hard to shave armpits & square boobs). I’m curious to see what the PAP upper & lower workouts are like in Phase 3 but I’m too scared to look ahead.
OH! And one other thing – I tried following the diet for a week (I prefer healthy, intuitive eating) and 225g of protein a day was pretty much impossible as a vegetarian. But it did help to make me realize that to build muscle I need to boost the protein.
I listen to the local ESPN radio a lot, and you can tell who their target demographic is (hint: not me). The commercials are almost all P90X (“I got back the body I had 20 years ago!”), rogaine/hair replacement clinics, pills/treatments to boost your testosterone/”perform in bed like you did 20 years ago!” and flowers/jewelry close to Christmas and Valentine’s Day, with plenty of reminders that they’ll be open extra late/same day delivery on Valentine’s Day, if you forget.
But I know several people who definitely fall in that target demographic who’ve gotten hurt with the workout. Creative and challenging are both good, but when you’re doing it at home by yourself, without a trainer, it seems like the two aren’t always a great combination (especially when it starts challenging, instead of easing into it). It’s definitely better to modify or just do something else than end up seriously hurt and unable to workout at all for awhile.
And it may be because I watched the video at the top with the sound off… but WHY was he wearing a mask of someone else’s face?
I am almost done with Phase 1 of P90X2 and I agree it has some scary hard moves that I modified the crap out of the first week. Howvever, 3 weeks in now, I am much less sore and most of the moves (a lot of them) that I couldn’t even do 1 of in that first week I can now do 1 of, sometimes 2. So there’s progress, its just super slow. I am thinking about hybrid-ing in P90X if phase 2 goes bad but I am determined to finish. With results. With 6-pack abs. Just do what you can and keep at it! As far as the moves you can’t do, just make it your goal to do 1 , then modify. Good enough. You’ll be able to do a couple eventually 🙂 No quitting allowed!
It’s not uncommon to be injured with high intensity programs like P90X or Insanity.
My best advice is to have injuries that will heal without needing surgical repairs 🙂
Interesting review. Thanks for sharing. I started with Slim in 6 beachbody back in 2004. While I like P90X I’ve never been able to complete the whole series. I’m glad I won’t be missing much in p90x2.
Considering the fact that I can injure myself in a room full of bubble wrap I do believe I will steer clear of this workout. I like cool new wierd exercises to keep it fresh, but a whole workout of them seems counterproductive to me. The fall down to plank thing you mentioned would likely wreck my wrists…the whole thing just doesn’t sound like much fun. I seem to be good enough at random injuries all on my own, so I do believe I’ll pass. Thanks for the honest review.
As usual, you’ve written an informative and entertaining review. But given your past posts about women and strength, I admit – I’m kind of surprised by your inclusion of the line “even the girl makes it look easy!”. Because if a girl can do it, it shouldn’t be that hard?
I have to guess that Charlotte said that because so many of these moves are crazy upper body moves requiring the kind of strength that “generally” only men have in that area. I have to admit that I would be impressed if a woman could do 120 pull ups…our bodies were simply not made to do that. No insult, simply biology.
Biology is a fact of life as they say 🙂 The note still strikes me as odd, but you do make the completely valid point that I have no idea what she meant by it (impressed by the female’s prowress, joking aside to the audience, disappointment that she couldn’t do the same, etc). What I read into it reflects more on me than the writer.
Eek! I’m so sorry that line offended people. I didn’t mean “Because if a girl can do it, it shouldn’t be that hard?” but rather that girls typically don’t have as much upper body strength as men and yet the girls were banging out the pull-ups. It was me being jealous that I’m not that buff because often I do mentally use the excuse “well I’m a girl, that’s why I can’t do 120 pull-ups” and now I don’t have that to fall back on:)
“They make it all look so easy on the videos – even the girl makes them look like a piece of cake” Even the girl…? Seriously? As a female fitness blogger I’m surprised at this comment! When men at the gym assume and imply that women won’t be able to do what men are able to do, I’m offended. When women do this, I’m surprised. But a woman who actually is into fitness? It’s one thing to recognize that women may not always be as strong as men but to imply their actual ability to perform an exercise is any different is disappointing.
As I wrote to the commenter above you “I have to guess that Charlotte said that because so many of these moves are crazy upper body moves requiring the kind of strength that “generally” only men have in that area. I have to admit that I would be impressed if a woman could do 120 pull ups…our bodies were simply not made to do that. No insult, simply biology.”
Eek! I’m so sorry that line offended people. I didn’t mean “Because if a girl can do it, it shouldn’t be that hard?” but rather that girls typically don’t have as much upper body strength as men and yet the girls were banging out the pull-ups. It was me being jealous that I’m not that buff because often I do mentally use the excuse “well I’m a girl, that’s why I can’t do 120 pull-ups” and now I don’t have that to fall back on:) Did I just make myself sound worse? Like Krista pointed out, it was meant as a comment admiring the prowess of the tough P90X women and wondering why I couldn’t keep up…
As a female who’s had to work 10 times as hard as a guy to get to the point of doing multiple pull-ups, I’m not offended at all; I know exactly where you’re coming from. I’m always telling guys “If I, a 53 year old woman, can do such-and-such, you can, too!”
I get it and it sounds like your intentions are completely good and your points are obviously valid. I just know that the assumption is usually that girls can’t do what boys can (especially in certain arenas like the gym). When men use this as a go to condescension it really bothers me so when a woman references it, even though you clearly didn’t mean it as condescending, it just obviously stuck in my craw. Thanks for addressing it and sorry to have initially assumed the worst!
Oh, I HATE HATE HATE it when i get a video and I repeatedly have to modify. It’s even worse when no modifications are offered. I have never done P90X, but I have done a TON of Cathe Friedrich videos, and her STS is similar to P90X. At least I never felt like I couldn’t do all of the moves. Cathe does have a couple of videos that are beyond my experience, but STS doesn’t fit into that category.
I have considered buying the first P90X set a few times but couldn’t justify the cost. I may still get around to it one of these days. Sounds like version 2 is one to skip. Thanks for the honesty!
The first P90X was really good. Granted there are still a gazipazillion pullups, but at least they were modifiable AND mixed in with a lot of great weight workout moves. Nothing overly funky there. I recommend…and check craigslist or ebay…you may get a good deal!
Hmm. Since I am sadly and horribly inept and uncoordinated, sounds like this is probably a no go for me. Sad.
Kind of off-topic, but I have been talking to several of my physiology students (women) who are doing the Insanity program. I love that I can tell them from a physiology perspective why it is such a bad program AND that I can also say such not positive things from an “I’ve done it” perspective. That’s the beauty of the fitness experiment, I suppose.
I think Gym Buddy Krista has saved me a couple of hundred dollars.
and maybe a carpet-burned face! 🙂
I’ve been leading some coworkers in weekly strength training session (with body weight and light dumbbells) and one of them commented that her husband bought P90X (not sure if it was the original or the sequel) and that she was going to do the abs section with him. I think I talked her out of it when I told her she can’t even do a push-up with good form yet so the P90X series might be a wee bit too intense for her. I may have to use Krista (and you) as an additional cautionary tale!
Don’t do it but I LOVE THAT VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think there must be something wrong with me because I really like the P90X2. The stability ball is the best difference between P90X and P90X2 and I like the weight of the medicine balls. There are a few moves I can’t do at all and many I have to modify but I feel like I can do a lot of them so I try to focus on those. And I am getting better at it. Maybe I will make a list of all the moves I can and can’t do to see how it compares. Or maybe I’m not ready for that reality check just yet 😉 Also, I feel like if I do 3 pull-ups and I can’t lift my arms over my head in the morning than that’s a good enough workout for me. It will never be my goal ever to do 120 pull-ups!
Hey I think this says that there is everything RIGHT with you!! I wish I could say I loved the stability stuff that much. Maybe it hurts my pride because I’ve always thought I had exceptional balance and I can barely stumble through that workout… Keep up the awesome work!
I also think its because I have the “I can’t do it , oh friggin well” attitude lol
I love this idea! I want to thank you for the video you have provided here…Thanks a lot!
Fantastic blog; great writing, real substance. Thanks.
Hey Charlotte – sorry this workout is not working out for you! Lots of credit to you for honging in… Christa – I think I would be with you on this one – just hearing about it – no desire to try it!.
I have been doing the Spartacus 2 workout for the past 4 weeks – another 4 to go. I am really liking it! I found it in Men’s Health mag. Get this – our fav workout person Rachel Cosgrove is the creator. I have subsequently found the workout on her blog – and other versions created prior to S2.
I think you and the Gym buddies would like this one!
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I agree, I am still in Phase 1 of X2. Not only are the moves doing too much at once, there’s absolutely no introduction to them. In X1, he spent time explaining the moves, and positioning, and critiqued his people a lot so you had a good idea of where everything should be. With X2, he’s just like, ok, now go to your hands, and wrap this onto that, grab this, and do some curl presses. It feels incredibly rushed, the stretches I’m not digging, especially the neuro stretch or whatever, that comes with hardly any explanation. I can’t tell what you’re doing when you’re barely moving on your side. Plus, I feel like it was designed to sell the equipment. A lot of the stuff in here is almost designed to be nearly impossible to do them correctly without the equipment. Finally, yes, I agree I felt like Tony was trying to show off the whole time.
I found your blog by searching “Injuries from P90X2” on google to make sure I was not the only one!!! My friends at work and I did P90X twice, then we did Insanity, and decided to try P90X2. My husband is a personal trainer, and he warned me: “just be careful.” We are all late 30’s early 40’s and we are all now the walking wounded. I ended up at the chiropractor this week, who told me that P90X and P90X2 have been great practice builders for him! The moves in this new series are so over engineered, and Tony Horton seems to have lost his focus on “proper form.” My back and hips are so mangled at this point that I can’t do anything! Our group has decided to try one week of phase 2 and then to reassess whether to continue or not.
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