Over the summer, I started doing P90X with a group of teachers I worked with at our local high school. Summer is kind of slow when you work at a high school, and one teacher had borrowed the DVDs from his brother, so I thought … hey, why not? I’m sure that, at some point, you’ve seen the P90X infomercials and/or before and after photos. In short, P90X uses muscle confusion to, er, confuse your muscles and build lean muscle mass. And also it totally kicks your a$$.

The workouts are six days a week, and over 60 minutes each. Three days of strength training and abs, two days of cardio, and one day of yoga. The workouts are SO hard … I’ve never experienced anything like it. There were numerous times during our workouts that we all thought we would puke. Have I convinced you yet that P90X is a good idea?!

Here’s the bottom line: P90X works. It will kick your butt into shape and you will feel great about yourself! It’s hard NOT to think you’re hardcore when you do sixty straight minutes of weightlifting three days a week! Unfortunately, I didn’t complete the 90 day program because I got a new job with a regular hours that didn’t allow for our 3:30 workout. However, I highly recommend P90X if you have the time to spend working out.

The only real con is the price – at around $140 on Amazon, it’s not a cheap thing. However, it *is* a one-time purchase and you receive a lot of information with the program. The P90X package consists of:

• 12 Workout DVDs, including:  Chest & Back, Plyometrics (this cardio workout is NO JOKE), Shoulders & Arms, Yoga X, Legs & Back, Kenpo X (a martial arts-style cardio workout), X Stretch, Core Synergistics, Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Back & Biceps, Cardio X, and Ab Ripper X
• P90X Fitness Guide
• Nutrition Plan
• P90X Calendar to track progress
• Free online support
• A How To Bring It DVD

My biggest warning to you is:  make sure you have water and a towel nearby, AND … be prepared for Tony Horton’s horrible humor.  When we started P90X, I looked him up on Wikipedia and discovered that he started his career as a stand-up comedian.  Let’s just say that there’s a reason that profession didn’t last.

Ready to BRING IT?  Check out P90X!