Fitness Destinations

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

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.

Exercises during this workout include: Balance Lunges, Calf-raise Squats, Super Skaters, Wall Squats, Step Back Lunges, Alternating Side Lunges, Single-leg Wall Squats, Deadlift Squats, Three-way Lunge with Two-Kick Option, Sneaky Lunges, Chair Salutations, Toe Roll Iso-Lunges, Groucho Walk, Calf Raises, 80/20  Speed Squats

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.

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 6 – Kenpo X
• P90X Review Day 7 – X Stretch
• P90X Review Day 8 – Core Synergistics
• 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!

Finally – a P90X workout that didn’t leave me wanting to curl up into the fetal position and cry for Momma! That being said, the P90X® Shoulder and Arm routine is no joke, and is every bit as effective as every other P90X workout that I have been through.

The set up of this workout is geared more towards working the targeted areas in short, 2-round bursts, rather than the longer sustained sets of exercises in some of the other workouts. The Shoulder and Arm routine is broken down into five 3-set sections, with each set containing an exercise for your shoulders, your biceps, and your triceps. What really rocks, however, is that many of the movements target more than one muscle group, and that extra bit of intensity makes a huge difference compared to doing more standard exercises.

Also, even though I have spent years pouring over training manuals, programs, and exercise literature, I was pleasantly surprised to see several very effective exercises in this routine that I had never seen before, including a great body weight exercise for the triceps.

In addition, although this was a great workout for the shoulders and the arms, since it wasn’t quite as intense as some of the other P90X workouts, they picked a good time to slip in another Ab Ripper X routine which was done after the arm and shoulder workout. You can click on through to check out the review of Ab Ripper X that I did after the Day 1 workout.

Exercises during this workout include: Alternating Shoulder Press, In & Out Bicep Curls, Two-arm Tricep Kickbacks, Deep Swimmer’s Press, Full Supination Concentration Curls, Chair Dips, Upright Rows, Static Arm Curls, Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks, Two-angle Shoulder Flyes, Crouching Cohen Curls, Lying-down Tricep Extensions, In & Out Straight-arm Shoulder Flyes, Congdon Curls, and Side Tri-Rises

Conclusion

As I stated in the beginning, this workout isn’t as intense as some of the other workouts, but that is by design so that you can focus on working the muscles that this workout targets.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that you aren’t gasping for air like you were doing the Plyometrics workout. You’ll still work up a great sweat, but breathing hard is not the goal of this workout – pounding on your biceps, triceps, and shoulders is.

If you stay focused on the goal of this workout and use truly challenging weights, you’ll see huge improvements in your strength, as well as the appearance of your arms, shoulders, and upper back.

See other related P90X Review posts:

• P90X Review Day 1 – Chest, Back, and Ab Ripper X
• P90X Review Day 2 – Plyometrics
• 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
• 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!

The P90X chest and back workout is no joke! It is as intense as they claim it is, and at the same time it is fun, and radically effective!

Even as difficult as it was, Tony Horton does a great job of both motivating you to really push your limits, while at the same time encouraging you to take breaks when you need them. There are also several water breaks when you can catch your breath, and plenty of time devoted to warming up, as well as cooling down.

The Exercises

This workout is divided up into 2 “rounds”. You run through the entire workout once, then they change things up a bit and run you through the entire thing a second time. By the second time around, you are truly grateful that you are on the downhill slide towards the end of the workout!

Exercises during this workout include: Standard Push-ups, Wide Front Pull-ups, Military Push-ups, Reverse Grip Chin-ups, Wide Fly Push-Ups, Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups, Decline Push-ups, Heavy Pants, Diamond Push-ups, Lawnmower, Dive Bomber Push-ups, Back Flyes

Ab Ripper X

By the time you get to Ab Ripper X, if you are working out with a buddy, you are hugging and giving each other high-fives, and in some cases, you may actually feel like crying with joy because the chest and back workout is over! However, the ab routine is approximately 16 more minutes of fun, and although your chest and back get a break, your abs will be screaming for mercy in no time.

Exercises during Ab Ripper X include: In & Outs, Seated Bicycle (forward and reverse), Seated Crunchy Frog, Wide Leg Sit-ups, Fifer Scissors, Hip Rock n’ Raise, Pulse Ups, V-up Roll-up, Oblique V-ups, Leg Climbs, and Mason Twist

Conclusion

The chest and back workout is very challenging, yet very effective. The specific exercises that were chosen not only get the job done, but they are put together in an order that allows you to use a different muscle group while the previous muscle group is recuperating.

Notice the word “recuperating” rather than “resting”. There are no significant “rest” periods during the entire 45+ minute workout.

Ab Ripper X incorporates a few “standard” abdominal exercises, but overall it is a very unique and well-rounded abdominal workout. Each exercise is only done once, for a total of 25 repetitions, so even as challenging as it is, you only have to make it through one time.

Overall, the Chest and Back workout and the Ab Ripper X workout live up to the P90X standards of intensity and effectiveness, yet at the same time plenty of encouragement and motivation are given. Tony and the other people in the video make it fun, the music keeps you going, and you end the workout with a smile on your face, even though you are completely wiped out.

2 thumbs up!

See other related P90X Review posts:

• 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
• P90X Review Day 10 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
• P90X Review Day 11 – Back and Biceps