Fitness Destinations

Click here to see my personal P90X 90 Day After Pictures!

The extreme effectiveness of the P90X^® home fitness program has never been in debate, but if you want to crank up the intensity of some of the workouts, there are options for doing so.

The Kenpo X routine is one of 3 workouts in P90X that are primarily cardiovascular in nature, and all 3 of them are awesome for burning a lot of calories. The Kenpo X routine in particular is largely made up of various combinations of kicks and punches, so it stands to reason that if you make your hands or your legs heavier, you will crank up the intensity, and thus get an even larger benefit from the workout.

The trick to these tactics, however, is to never lose sight of the safety factor. Our bodies are used to fighting against gravity at a certain level, and by adding extra weight to our feet or hands, there is the possibility for injury if a dose of common sense does not go along with the effort.

Ankle Weights

The easiest way to add weight to your feet is to wear ankle weights. I found many, many different versions of ankle weights at Amazon.com, including one manufacturer that would let you choose a weight anywhere from 1/2 a pound all the way up to 20 pounds – very cool.

The trick to ankle weights is to make sure that they are snug and do not move around as you exercise. The Kenpo X workout is a lot of bouncing, jumping, and kicking, and if your ankle weights move around, it will at the very least be uncomfortable, and it could cause an injury as well.

One tip to keeping your ankle weights from moving around is to wear ankle-high socks underneath the ankle weights. Not only will that allow the ankle weights to be more securely attached to your leg, but it will also minimize friction or chafing from the weights themselves.

Weighted Gloves

You could also wear ankle weights on your wrists, but most ankle weight varieties would slide around quite a bit, and in addition, you simply don’t need that much weight on your hands. Even a minor increase in how much your hands weigh will make all of those punches a lot harder, giving you a significant boost in the intensity of the workout.

Beachbody has their version of weighted gloves in the Beachbody Store, and they weigh .75 lbs on each hand. Back over at Amazon.com I found a 2 lb pair (1 lb each hand), and a 6 lb pair (3 lbs each hand).

Just as Tony Horton points out in the Kenpo X video, always be sure not to bang your joints when you are doing your punches and your kicks. That advice applies even more whenever you have weights strapped to your body. The momentum of your kicks and punches will pull on your joints if you don’t reel in that energy by using the proper form and technique during the workout.

Bonus: Weighted Vest

If you really want to go all out, you can even strap on a weighted vest when you do Kenpo X. You won’t get as much out of the vest during Kenpo as you would during Plyometrics, Cardio X, or even just a walk or a jog, but if you’re going to get the vest anyway, why not really Bring It during Kenpo as well?

All of the P90X workouts are extreme, and this post about cranking up the intensity is not meant to imply that you have to have this type of equipment, nor that you should even consider bringing up the intensity until you start to feel comfortable with the P90X workouts.

However, if you do want to really push yourself to your limits, and you feel like you are ready to take your workouts to the next level, use this information in order to make an informed decision about how to proceed, and as always, be sure to listen to your body when you are exercising.

Buy P90X Now!

I am a 2-time P90X Graduate and a Certified Personal Trainer. Purchase P90X now and I will Coach you to success through the entire 90-Day program – FREE of charge!

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See other related P90X Review posts:

• P90X Review Day 1 – Chest, Back, and Ab Ripper X
• P90X Review Day 2 – Plyometrics
• P90X Review Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms
• P90X Review Day 4 – Yoga X
• P90X Review Day 5 – Legs and Back
• P90X Review Day 6 – Kenpo X
• P90X Review Day 7 – X Stretch
• P90X Review Day 8 – Core Synergistics
• P90X Review Day 9 – Cardio X

Click here to see my personal P90X 90 Day After Pictures!

It’s easy to think of “average” people bouncing all over their living rooms to the latest exercise videos, but what about American Gladiators like Siren singing the praises of the P90X^® workouts?

In this video from Beachbody Network News, Siren, who is also a Beachbody Coach, talks about how challenging the P90X workouts are, and coming from one of the stars of a show that is based on strength and athleticism, that’s some high praise!

Also, the Beachbody Coaches for Dave Gardner and Irma Sanchez – both $10,000 success story winners from the Million Dollar Body Club^® – are featured as being an instrumental part of the success of Dave and Irma’s ability to get in shape and win some cool, hard cash in the process.

Enjoy!

Beachbody Network News, May 27, 2008

Buy P90X Now!

OR
Become a Beachbody Coach and save 25% off of P90X and all Beachbody products, supplements, and equipment!

Click here to see my personal P90X 90 Day After Pictures!

The Core Synergistics workout in the P90X^® program is a ton of fun, but it is far from easy! Be prepared to be humbled as you try to do some of these movements!

The basic idea behind the P90X Core Synergistics workout is that the more you engage your core muscles, the stronger you will be for all athletic movements, for all real-world movements, and for injury prevention as well. That is all very true, and since the core muscles include the inner and outer abdominal muscles, the side abdominal muscles, and the muscles of the lower back and the spine, strengthening those areas is simply an all-around great idea.

Also, this is one of the P90X workouts that happens during each of the three recovery weeks (Week 4, Week, 8, and Week 13), and it’s a great workout to keep up your intensity level, while at the same time allowing your joints, muscles and connective tissues to get a much-needed break after the previous week’s very challenging workouts.

One very cool thing about the Core Synergistics workout is that you only do each exercise once, rather than repeating movements as some of the other P90X workouts had you doing.

Exercises during this workout include: Stacked Foot/Staggered Hands Push-ups, Banana Roll, Leaning Crescent Lunges, Squat Run, Sphinx Push-ups, Bow to Boat, Low Lateral Skaters, Lunge & Reach, Prison Cell Push-ups, Side Hip Raise, Squat X-Press, Plank to Chaturanga Run, Walking Push-ups, Superman/Banana, Lunge Tricep Curl Press, Towel Hopping, Reach High & Under Push-ups, Steam Engine, Dreya Roll, Plank to Chaturanga Iso, Halfback, and Table Dip Raise

Overall, this is one of the most fun and entertaining of the P90X workouts, yet at the same time, you are totally working hard throughout – it’s no vacation!

Don’t be afraid to watch the DVD before you do this workout. Some of the moves are a little complicated, so if you want to ensure that you get the most out of the workout itself, take a look at the video before you are actually ready to stand there and go through the workout.

See other related P90X Review posts:

• P90X Review Day 1 – Chest, Back, and Ab Ripper X
• P90X Review Day 2 – Plyometrics
• P90X Review Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms
• P90X Review Day 4 – Yoga X
• P90X Review Day 5 – Legs and Back
• P90X Review Day 6 – Kenpo X
• P90X Review Day 7 – X Stretch
• P90X Review Day 9 – Cardio X
• P90X Review Day 10 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
• P90X Review Day 11 – Back and Biceps

Click here to see my personal P90X 90 Day After Pictures!

If you want to get results from P90X^®, then you need to know the correct order of the P90X workouts! If you don’t follow the P90X workout/recovery time line, you could seriously compromise your results.

While the P90X infomercials are a ton of fun and they do a great job of getting people (justifiably) excited about an incredible workout and weight loss program, many people who buy P90X fail to read the directions!

The program comes with a very informative and helpful guide that not only tells you everything you could possibly want to know about P90X, but it also includes a time line that you are supposed to follow.

P90X is not just a bunch of great exercises thrown together in a haphazard order so you can pop in whatever DVD you want and go for it. The program is structured to allow for maximum intensity and maximum recuperation from workouts by doing them in a very specific order. If you go outside of that order, not only might you compromise your results, but you could get hurt in the process.

P90X is just what it claims to be – an Extreme Home Fitness Program. If you BRING IT during each one of your workouts, you need to both eat right in between those workouts, and also allow yourself plenty of recovery time so that your muscles, tendons, and ligaments can rest and/or grow as needed.

Here is the PROPER order of the P90X workouts. I have included both the “classic” version, which is what most people do, and also the “lean” version which some people opt for. Both versions are great, but in either case, follow the proper order to get the results that you want!

CLASSIC P90X Workout

PHASE 1 – 1st month

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3

• Day 1 – Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Plyometrics
• Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 4

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Core Synergistics
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Phase 2 – 2nd month

Week 5, Week 6, Week 7

• Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Plyometrics
• Day 3 – Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 8

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Core Synergistics
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Phase 3 – 3rd month

Week 9 and Week 11

• Day 1 – Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Plyometrics
• Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 10 and Week 12

• Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Plyometrics
• Day 3 – Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 13

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Core Synergistics
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Lean P90X Workout

PHASE 1 – 1st month

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3

• Day 1 – Core Synergistics
• Day 2 – Cardio X
• Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 4

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Cardio X
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Phase 2 – 2nd month

Week 5, Week 6, Week 7

• Day 1 – Core Synergistics
• Day 2 – Cardio X
• Day 3 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 8

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Cardio X
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Phase 3 – 3rd month

Week 9 and Week 11

• Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Cardio X
• Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Core Synergistics
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 10 and Week 12

• Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 2 – Cardio X
• Day 3 – Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X
• Day 4 – Yoga X
• Day 5 – Core Synergistics
• Day 6 – Kenpo X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 13

• Day 1 – Yoga X
• Day 2 – Core Synergistics
• Day 3 – Kenpo X
• Day 4 – X Stretch
• Day 5 – Cardio X
• Day 6 – Yoga X
• Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Think all of this looks like a lot of work? IT IS! But it is OH SO worth it! P90X is not for whiners who aren’t ready to BRING IT – and get results.

Ready to see what you’re made of?

See other related P90X Review posts:

• P90X Review Day 1 – Chest, Back, and Ab Ripper X
• P90X Review Day 2 – Plyometrics
• P90X Review Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms
• P90X Review Day 4 – Yoga X
• P90X Review Day 5 – Legs and Back
• P90X Review Day 6 – Kenpo X
• P90X Review Day 7 – X Stretch
• P90X Review Day 8 – Core Synergistics
• P90X Review Day 9 – Cardio X

All companies claim that their products and services will help our lives in some way, yet you normally don't have to look very far before you see the employees of that very same company NOT using those products. Enter Beachbody, a company that not only sells top of the line health and fitness products, but they provide the facilities and the resources at their offices so that their employees can take advantage of those products and services, too!

This video from Beachbody Network News shows that Beachbody employees are not only encouraged to lead by example, but that they are also given all of the resources that they need in order to do so, and most of them are right on-site at the Beachbody offices.

As company president Jon Congdon talks about in this video, healthy employees make for a better workforce, and in that regard, Beachbody is leading the way!

Beachbody employees working up a sweat on the job!