One of the great things about being a member of the Million Dollar Body Club is that every week they update the video library of real-life success stories, and the April 2008 winner of the $10,000 prize should be an inspiration to women and men everywhere!

You can just take a look at her before pictures to see that Irma Sierra-Sanchez went from "round in the wrong places" to "round in the right places," and she did it all with Beachbody's Power90® In-home Bootcamp.

You can click the picture below to see the video interview that they did with Irma after she won the $10,000 prize, and you can be inspired by what the average person can accomplish! No wonderful genetics, and no miracle diets or pills. Just a dedication to doing what it takes to succeed!

Nice work, Irma! You're an inspiration!

Click the picture to view Irma's video 

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Flexibility is such an under-rated component of physical fitness, and in a program as intense as P90X®, it might seem like stretching for an hour is a joke compared to the intensity of the other workouts. Is it far less intense? Yes. Should you just skip it then? Absolutely not!

Stretching properly and effectively has many benefits, including workout recovery, injury prevention, and increased performance. The better you perform, the faster you see results, so that alone should motivate people to take the time to stretch.

The majority of the exercises that are included in the Stretch X DVD are movements that were taught in earlier workouts, including Yoga X. There are some new stretches as well, but it isn't just the new stretches that give Stretch X its value - it is the fact that you are doing the stretches when you aren't completely wiped out from a really intense workout!

During each of the previous P90X workouts, even though Tony Horton always does a great job of warming you up as well as cooling you down, your mind is still pretty scattered at the end of a workout simply because it was so intense. Tony is telling you to hang your arms down and rock back and forth, but you're thinking about just face planting on the floor…

During Stretch X, you are not tired at all, with the exception of the residual soreness that most people will be feeling from the previous workouts. However, that isn't to say that you won't need to push yourself to your limits, just as you do with all of the P90X workouts. In Stretch X, you are simply doing it via effective stretches, rather than challenging resistance or cardiovascular exercises.

Overall, if you approach the Stretch X DVD with a calm and peaceful state of mind, you will get the most out of it. Be grateful for the wonderful break that it is from the high intensity workouts that you've become accustomed to, and just spend an hour taking care of your joints, and relaxing your mind.

The only caveat to all of that is to be sure - as with any workout - that you don't overdo it. It is very possible to stretch too far, or to apply too much force to a stretch. If you end up with that type of an injury, you can count on being out of the P90X game for at least a week, if not more. For that reason, listen to Tony's advice during the workout, stretch effectively and properly, and just enjoy the down time.

Your next workout after Stretch X will be back to Day 1 - Chest, Back, & Ab Ripper X - so enjoy the break while you have it!

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I just saw a very informative edition of Beachbody Network News where they talk about how much women are at risk for heart disease (would you believe 1 in 3 die from it??), and also about how to get through those first few critical weeks when starting a new exercise program, especially in the home environment.

As they point out in the video, people buy home exercise DVD's, but then they just end up collecting dust, which, of course, leads to zero results. Has this ever happened to you? If so, then this video is worth checking out.

Click the screenshot below and you'll be taken directly to the BNN broadcast:

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Kenpo X has so far been the most enjoyable workout in the P90X® program! Even though it is an hour long, the hour goes by very quickly, and you get a great workout - almost without even realizing it!

As with all of the P90X workouts, you can modify the intensity up or down to suit your own abilities and level of fitness. Despite the fact that there are a lot of kicks, punches, and elbows thrown during this workout, you could easily tone it down enough even for a beginner by simply slowing down and taking more breaks.

Tony Horton directs the workout as he does all of the P90X routines, but the other 3 people in the video are really an inspiration, too. They do the moves so well, and it is easy to pattern yourself off of what they are doing until you get good at the movements.

In addition, many of the moves are clearly "street fighting" style, which is one of the many descriptions that is given about Kenpo in the P90X book. Although there are a lot of standard punches and kicks, there are also many moves that could easily be translated into a real-world self-defense type of situation. In that regard, not only are you getting a great workout, but you are gaining confidence and peace of mind as well.

It all starts out with a 10-minute long stretching and warm-up session, and that alone is 1/6th of the workout time, plus another 5-minute cool-down at the end. The stretching and warm-up session includes plenty of great leg stretches, several yoga poses, and also other activities to get the blood flowing in your muscles before you actually start throwing kicks and punches.

There are numerous moves that you'll do throughout the Kenpo X routine, and most of them are simply put into different combinations in order to keep it fun, interesting, and intense.

From the upper body you can expect to see:

• Jabs
• Crosses
• Hooks
• Uppercuts
• Swords
• Claws
• Low Punches
• Inward/Outward Blocks
• High/Low Blocks
• Star Blocks
• Vertical Punches
• "Knuckles"
• Elbows

From the lower body you'll be doing:

• Knee Kicks
• Ball Kicks
• Side Kicks
• Back Kicks
• 3-Direction Kicks

The biggest challenge with Kenpo X the first few times (in addition to the non-stop action!) is that several of the moves are combinations that consist of 3 or 4 individual movements. Again, these are put together in a "street fighting" style, so they have both exercise and real-world value, but it can be hard to remember the combinations until you get proficient. Don't be afraid to watch any of the P90X DVD's when you AREN'T exercising, just so you can get some practice with the moves.

The intensity of the Kenpo X workout can be modified in several different ways, and Tony repeatedly reminds you to take a break if you need it:

• Speed up/Slow down the movements
• Take breaks (there are several optional 90-second break periods)
• Kick/Punch/Move with more or less force
• Skip the breaks and do calisthenics instead, as they are doing on the video
• Keep jumping/hopping/bouncing around, even between movements

One of the really fun parts about the P90X Kenpo workout is that they crank up the energy on several of the moves after the first 10 or 15 repetitions. Tony and the others start adding vocals to their strikes, the music changes and speeds up, and overall you just get a sense of urgency and excitement. It's great to keep you motivated!

Conclusion

Kenpo X is one of the most enjoyable workouts in P90X, and at the same time, it is one of the most well-rounded because you are using your entire body. Some people like the Plyometrics workout as a good cardio routine (and it is!), but I'll take Kenpo X any time as far as the "fun factor".

Overall, Kenpo X is an awesome workout, it's fun, and you get many, many benefits from just that one workout. 2 thumbs up!

WHAT'S NEXT?

Purchase your own copy of P90X®
Join the Million Dollar Body Club
Teach others P90X as a Team Beachbody Coach

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Day 5 of the P90X® programs brings back several great workouts, including Ab Ripper X and several exercises from the back routine first done on Day 1. In addition, however, Tony Horton and the gang bring on some leg exercises that don't look like much, until you try to DO them!

This workout is also different in the fact that although the back exercises repeat for 2 rounds, the leg exercises are all done only once - and that is enough, believe me. For anyone who really struggled with Yoga X on Day 4, be prepared for some of your leg muscles to give out earlier than you would normally expect them to.

However, that being said, the standard P90X guidelines continue to apply during this routine - "Do your best, forget the rest". P90X in general is based entirely on that philosophy. As long as you are truly giving the program your best effort - but also listening to your body - you'll see the promised results.

The following list of exercises will only include the leg exercises, since the back exercise were covered in the earlier reviews linked to above. I will input the name of those exercises so that you can see where they fell in the workout, however.

Balance Lunges

With your foot kept up on a chair, you lunge forward and back over the other leg 25 times in a row. It seems easy at first, but starts to burn pretty quickly.

This is a great exercise for being able to modify the intensity because you can back off if 25 reps on each leg is too much for you, and you can hold onto dumbbells if you want to make it harder. 

Calf-raise Squats

This is an awesome combination exercise that, as the name implies, combines a standard squat and a calf raise. You do the squat first, then when you come up, you raise all the way up onto your toes.

Again, you can add dumbbells to make it harder. Reverse Grip Chin-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Super Skaters

If you've ever seen speed skating on television, that is the movement that you're doing here. You bend over as you kick one leg back, all the while balancing on the other leg in a forward lunge position.

To make it easier, you can touch the toe of the leg that you're not balancing on to the floor, and to make it harder you can swing your leg behind and to the side, rather than just swinging it backwards. 

Wall Squats

Talk about looking easy but being incredibly hard, in this exercise you basically put your back against the wall and slide down to various positions, and then hold it there. After about 10 or 15 seconds, your legs are on FIRE.

You can make it easier by sliding up the wall more, and harder by holding yourself in the position where your legs are exactly parallel to the floor. Wide Front Pull-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Step Back Lunges

This exercise isn't too intense, so grab some weights to make it more difficult. Rather than stepping forward into a standard lunge, you step backwards into a deep lunge, going all the way down until the thigh of the front leg is parallel to the ground, knee behind your toe.

Drop the weights if you get worn out, and then kick out some more reps to muscle failure. If it is too easy, pick up heavier weights and/or pause for a full second in the bottom position. 

Alternating Side Lunges

Coordination is the hardest part at first about this exercise, since you are trying to lunge out to one side while keeping the other foot planted. This is done for a total of 24 reps, and hits the inner and upper thighs if done properly. 

Pick up or drop dumbbells to modify the intensity. Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Single-leg Wall Squats

After the regular Wall Squats, and the exercises since then, this one is really hard. It is basically the same movement, only you hold one leg out as close as possible to keeping both thighs parallel to the floor.

You can modify your depth to make it easier or harder. The closer your thighs are to parallel with the floor, the harder it is. 

Deadlift Squats

This exercise is similar to the Step Back Lunge, only you never put the rear foot on the ground, which means that not only are you really working the forward leg, but you are having to balance the entire time, too.

Getting far enough down so you can touch the floor with your hands - yet without the forward knee going over your toe - is the hardest version of this exercise, while not going that deep makes it a bit less intense. Switch Grip Pull-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Three-way Lunge with Two-Kick Option

Coordination once again comes into play in this exercise, and the more proficient you get at this movement, the more you will get out of it. In essence, it is a lunge to the left, then at a 45-degree angle to the left, then straight forward. After each lunge, you do a straight leg or bent-knee kick. After all 3 directions, you switch to the other leg and do the same thing.

Straight leg kicks are harder than the bent-knee kicks, so there aren't a lot of options for making this exercise easier, but you can make it harder by really going for it on the kicks, and also getting really deep on the lunges. 

Sneaky Lunges

This one is weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is both effective, and also fun. It is basically a set of lunges that you do back and forth across the room, staying up on your TOES the entire time. You also modify the position of your arms and your body throughout the exercise, which makes it even more difficult.

Until you get good at this movement, you'll probably spend more time on flat feet than on your toes, but work up to staying on your toes the whole time to crank up the intensity. Reverse Grip Chin-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Chair Salutations

The set up that Tony does to get you into position for this exercise is the real magic, because it does a great job of stretching your body in preparation for this static contraction sitting movement. In essence, you are sitting on "air," feet together, with your arms overhead.

You can modify the intensity of this exercise by holding your hands higher overhead, and also by sitting down into a deeper squat. You could also hold the position longer, although the prescribed 30 seconds will be plenty for most people. 

Toe Roll Iso-Lunges

This is a back and forth movement where your body never significantly leaves the starting position, but rather you roll back and forth on the toe of the back leg. The start position is a deep lunge with one foot solidly out front, and the other leg as straight as possible to the rear.

Roll back and forth on the toe of the leg that is to the rear, and never let the knee of the forward leg go past the toes of the forward foot. Modify the length and depth of the lunge to change the intensity. Wide Front Pull-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

Groucho Walk

The Groucho Walk is basically a 4-step forward walk and 4-step backward walk while in a low squat position. It sounds easy, but it most definitely is not. By this point in the workout, your legs are really burning, and don't be surprised if you find yourself physically incapable of lifting your foot off of the ground by the end of this exercise.

You can modify the difficulty of this movement by walking in a lower or higher squat position, and also by taking more or less steps forward and backwards. 

Calf Raises

This was a really good exercise because you do 3 different calf raise positions, and at 2 different speeds. Everyone grabs dumbbells for this one, and you do a toes-in version, a toes-straight version, and a toes-out version. 15 slow and 10 fast reps are done in each position.

Make it harder by holding onto heavier ways, or by holding the "up" position for a full second or longer before doing the next repetition. Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups were the next exercise, followed by…

80/20 Cyber-speed Squats

This exercise is basically just a really fast squat, but the 80/20 comes in because you put 80% of your weight on one leg, and only 20% on the other leg. Switch to the other leg and repeat. This is the last leg exercise in this routine, and it is a great way to "take it home" and finish strong. Switch Grip Pull-ups were the next and final exercise in this workout.

Conclusion

Definitely impressed with the workout that this routine gives to your legs, yet without using very much external equipment, or even heavy weights. After doing countless reps with large weights in the gym environment, I was skeptical about how good of a leg workout could be delivered in the home environment.

P90X not only delivers an incredible workout, but it does so by simply modifying some basic exercises in order to either make them more difficult and/or to put them in an order that really cranks up the intensity.

This leg routine is an extreme challenge, to be sure, and it can easily be modified to make it easier or harder, which makes it both a short-term and a long-term workout solution.

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