I started with P90X way back in the day. It was the first home workout program I ever completed, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Oddly, I never wrote a review for it for some reason despite it being such an excellent program. P90X2 tries to raise the bar, and Tony Horton mentions throughout the program that this is meant for P90X grads, but in reality you can do this program just fine without having ever done P90X or other similar programs.

Much like P90X, X2 is a 90 day program that consists of 3 phases. Phase 1 is called Foundation, phase 2 is called Strength, and phase 3 is called Performance. With the original P90X, there were very specific programs to follow. If you wanted to get lean, you would follow the lean calendar. There was also the classic calendar and doubles, both of which you would follow a very specific routine. With P90X2, you are given more leeway to decide on how long you want to stay in each phase. So for phase 1, you can stay in the phase anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks, phase 2 is anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks, and phase 3 is anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. While some people might appreciate this flexibility, I am going to guess many will not. Many people who go through these programs like to be told exactly what to do. They want to be able to follow the calendar exactly and press play. With P90X2, the leeway is ambiguous enough to make people wonder how long they should do each phase for, as long as it adds up to 12 weeks. I ended up going with 3 weeks in phase 1, 5 weeks in phase 2, and 4 weeks in phase 3. This was largely arbitrary, except I wanted to spend the least amount of time in phase 1, because I feel I am in pretty good shape and didn’t need the extra time to “build up” to phase 2 and 3.

All workouts range anywhere from 50 minutes to 75 minutes in length. The longer days are the days that require X2 Ab Ripper. This will not be a shock to P90X grads who had to go through something similar in the original P90X. The workouts vary from phase to phase, but some workouts are used in multiple phases. X2 Yoga is used the most, as it is required in all three phases. Plyocide and X2 Recovery+Mobility are used in both phase 1 and 2. Workouts are 5 days per week with 2 rest and recovery days, which is 1 more day of rest per week compared to P90X.

The workouts in phase1 include X2 Core, Plyocide, X2 Recovery + Mobility, X2 Total Body, X2 Yoga, X2 Balance + Power, and Ab Ripper.

The workouts in phase 2 include Chest + Back + Balance, Plyocide, X2 Recovery + Mobility, X2 Shoulders + Arms, X2 Yoga, Base + Back, and Ab Ripper. In addition, you can substitute V-Sculpt for Chest + Back + Balance, and X2 Chest + Shoulders + Tris for X2 Shoulders + Arms. I did the substition for the last two weeks of phase 2 out of sheer boredom and curiousity.

The workouts in phase 3 include P.A.P. Lower (P.A.P. stands for post activation potentiation, which is a fancy term being thrown around fitness circles), P.A.P. Upper, X2 Yoga, and X2 Recovery + Mobility. There is also a random recovery week tacked onto the end of phase 3 should you need it, which is basically X2 Recovery + Mobility and X2 Yoga alternated every day.

Phew…that was a mouth full. It isn’t so confusing once you actually see the calendar and your options and start the program, though. The one thing that I believe is a big no no for this program is the sheer amount of equipment needed, which is tons more than P90X. You’ll need a mat, towels, tape, up to four(!) medicine balls, dumbbells of various weights, a pullup bar, resistance bands, stability balls, a plyo box, a foam roller, push up stands, and a bunch of other stuff that I’m probably forgetting. Conviently, Beachbody sells all of the stuff you need. I didn’t have all of the equipment needed, but I had most of it and made due. Tony Horton does emphasize that you can do this program in your hotel room if you are traveling, and thus don’t need all of the equipment. In other words, a lack of equipment should not deter you from starting the program. Nonetheless, it is always nice to do the exercises as they are designed for maximum benefit, but the sheer number of “stuff” you need for P90X2 makes this very hard.

I am not going into what each workout consists of individually (that would ruin the surprise!). Just know that there will be a lot of familiar stuff from P90X such as a warmup and cooldown, lots of pullups, pushups, dumbbell work, etc. But there will also be a crapload of new stuff including tons of stability ball work, medicine ball work, and foam rolling. I really liked the foam rolling, that was a nice touch, since I usually neglect foam rolling despite it being so important for recovery. The medicine and stability ball stuff was interesting, but also not really needed, in my opinion. I don’t doubt that the exercises were difficult, because some were (Impossible-Possible was one such move that destroyed me). But what did it accomplish aside from making me better at that particular exercise? That, I’m not so sure of. I’m not convinced that there is a skill transference to other activities, and I’m not convinced you can’t get just as strong or fast doing simpler exercises. But I digress, that’s neither here nor there. Variety is the spice of life, right?

Overall, this was a very good program. Tony Horton was his usual hilarious and whacky self, and most of the workouts were very good and left you feeling like you put in some good work. My results were pretty good as I leaned out some more while packing on a bit of muscle and got stronger. If you have the equipment or are willing to purchase them, this would be a great program. Alternatively, the original P90X is also really awesome, requires less equipment, and had more hilarious moments with Tony Horton. If you’ve never done P90X I would suggest doing that first, and if you are looking to try something new you can’t go wrong with P90X2. You can get P90X2 in both DVD and Blu-Ray. It comes in 3 sizes: Base, Ultimate, and Deluxe, which vary with the number of equipment included.

Blu-Ray: Ultimate, Deluxe, and Base.

DVD: Ultimate, Deluxe, and Base.

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If you liked this review, you may also like my Insanity Asylum, GSP Rushfit, Rip:60, P90X+, Insanity, RevAbs, or RMAX BER reviews

Related posts:

1. P90X Plus Workout Review
2. Rushfit Workout Review
3. Insanity Workout Review
4. Rev Abs Review
5. Insanity Asylum Review

P90X2 Workout Review is a post from: Awesomeness Deluxe

He was in the lab with a couple of friends doing some group work on an assignment. I was at the condo getting ready to eat dinner. I had made a stir fry using brown rice, some veggies, and chicken. It was piping hot but I was so hungry I just didn’t give a damn. I sat down with fork in hand, took a huge forkful of the stir fry, and proceeded to bury the fork into my mouth. I felt the heat of the food instantly burn my mouth. As I got ready to spit the food back out, I felt a sharp pain on the lower part of my mouth, inside the bottom row of my teeth on both sides. It was the fork. And it was stuck. I yanked a couple of times but the fork wouldn’t budge. It was literally wedged between the bottom row of my teeth. The heat of the food had caused the metal fork to expand at the exact moment I put it into my mouth. The heat, timing and angle had to be perfect for the fork to enter my mouth, expand, and decide to make itself a permanent fixture in my mouth. Mind you, the food was still burning the inside of my mouth. Too hot to swallow, I rushed to bathroom, turned my head to one side, and proceeded to use my fingers to claw the food out. As I looked at myself in the mirror I couldn’t help but laugh. “What the hell are the odds of getting a fork stuck in my mouth?”, I thought. I carefully examined my situation in the mirror, wondering what my options were. I yanked and yanked a couple more times. Nothing. My mouth was bleeding. It wasn’t that funny anymore. I started to get a little nervous. I figured since the fork expanded that some cold water would cause it to contract. But it was too little, too late. That fucking fork wasn’t going anywhere. I started to think that I was in some serious trouble. I sat down on my computer and started Googling stupid shit like “How to remove a fork from your mouth?”. Unsurprisingly, nothing relevant came up. I started to panic, and that’s when I started to frantically text message my roommate. Can you imagine getting text messages like “HELP ME. A FORK IS STUCK IN MY MOUTH!” and “YES YOU MORON I’VE TRIED TO PULL THE FORK OUT! TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL!!” while you are in a lab with group members. What would you do? Well in the case of my roommate he thought I was retarded, showed his group members so they all thought I was an idiot, and laughed it off. I kept sending him these messages until finally one of his group members called me to see if I was just messing around. I didn’t answer and wrote back “HOW CAN I PICKUP WITH A FORK IN MY MOUTH. GOD YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID”. My roommate, after about 10 exchanges, finally started to sense the urgency of the messages, and agreed to come home. By that time I was so freaked out, I just figured I’d yank as hard as I could and lose a couple of teeth in the process. At least that blasted fork would be out of my mouth. And so that’s what I did. I yanked so hard that when the fork finally came out of my mouth I shot backwards and landed right on my ass. My mouth was a bloody mess but thankfully I didn’t lose any teeth. I rose in victory, did a little dance, and texted my roommate telling him he didn’t have to come home now. To this day he still thinks I’m an idiot.

Related posts:

1. Why you need to take action.
2. Making Decisions
3. I Miss My Blog.
4. Man on Wire… lessons on balance
5. San Francisco is rules

The Day I was Forked is a post from: Awesomeness Deluxe

What we decide as moral might depend on the weather or what we just read in the newspaper. It goes counter to how we think we decide, yet time and again this is what the science demonstrates. When was the last time you made a decision you felt you had full control over, without outside influence? Think wayyy back, because it probably has never happened. This is potentially depressing for some, but the reframe is equally powerful. Knowing this, can’t we make better decisions through self monitoring, being totally honest with ourselves, and getting frequent feedback? I think so.

Think about that the next time you are about to put that cookie into your mouth, buy that tablet you don’t need, and think that buying a house is a wise decision. What are you assuming? You might realize that you don’t even know what you don’t know. You are your own person, but the illusion of control, security, and knowledge isn’t something you should ignore. It’s the game being played around you that you don’t even know exists that is most dangerous.

Related posts:

1. Making Things Intolerably Inconvenient
2. Small Decisions, Small Victories
3. RMAX Bodyweight Exercise Revolution Review
4. time waits for nobody
5. Why you need to take action.

Making Decisions is a post from: Awesomeness Deluxe

I’ve been watching this show called Departures and it does exactly that to me. I can’t stop watching the show. It was recommended to me a few years ago by a former co-worker and I was sure I wasn’t going to like it. I just brushed it off since I watch so little TV that it would just be some stupid travel show. Then over the holidays I turned it on, and watched….and watched….and watched. I have to physically force myself to stop watching and have limited myself to 1 episode a day. The good news, I guess, is that it is only 3 seasons long. But at the same time, I don’t ever want this show to end, and knowing that there’s an end makes me kind of sad. But then of course, everything ends and that’s ok.

There is something about it, though, that just has me hooked. My brother watched the first 2 episodes and hated it. Yet I can’t get my eyes away from the TV when it’s on. And not like, “Oh, this is a cool show, I’m going to watch this like Seinfeld” kind of way. It’s something much more than that, like I’m there in the show, feeling what they are feeling. It has hit me hard. I mean, sure it’s about 2 dudes who both remind me of myself in certain ways that go travel around the planet, but there’s tons of travel shows out there with hosts that go to wild and exotic places. I don’t even think travel is what draws me to it. The inner discovery, the trials and tribulations, the hardships, the rewarding victories, the way the story is told, it just grabs me by the balls. They are looking for something, but they don’t know what it is, yet they’ll know when they’ve found it. A ball grabber, for sure. What’s grabbed you by the balls, lately?

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs

Related posts:

1. Man on Wire… lessons on balance
2. “When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears” – Tony Robbins
3. San Francisco is rules
4. What motivates you? Finding leverage.
5. Changing it up around here.

When it hits you… is a post from: Awesomeness Deluxe

2011 was a good year. It was probably my best year in terms of learning. School gave me the opportunity to touch on subjects I wouldn’t have found on my own, as well as come across people whom I may not have been exposed to otherwise. These people were not only intelligent but helped bring new perspectives that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. School also allowed me the time to do my own reading. And I did a lot of it. I read over 50 books the past year. Although many people say that a rigorous MBA program doesn’t allow you to have a life outside of it, my experience has been the opposite. I found myself having adequate time to do the things I enjoy doing such as reading, working out, rock climbing, and jiu jitsu. These activities all contributed to my learning, balance, and well-being and were vital to my overall happiness.

There were a few disappointments in 2011, which included a large number of injuries. I threw out my back, tore cartilage in my ribs, messed up my right foot, aggravated my neck, etc. etc. in what seemed like a never-ending ocean of injury after injury. This made me very, very frustrated. I am hoping the lessons I have learned in 2011 will allow me to take the necessary precautions this year to avoid injuries while still doing the activities I love. I was also annoyed with my lack of output, which has always been my Achilles heel. I tend to consume a lot of input, hence the amount of books I read, but lacked creating any output of my own. This blog being an obvious example of that. I don’t have any excuses for this. I managed to do most of the things I wanted to do, and yet if I’m honest with myself I know I did those things so I could avoid doing what matters, such as figuring out how I will feed myself in the coming years. This annoys me to no end. There are certain activities I know I should do, but just conveniently never get around to doing them. My guess is probably because I find most of them uncomfortable. This is something I will address in 2012.

It will be a big year, with big changes coming up. I’ll graduate, turn 30, and leave Toronto, to name a few things. I’ll continue doing the activities I love, but will definitely have an emphasis on output. Have a great 2012!

Related posts:

1. 2010 Annual Review.
2. The Lost Art of Solitude
3. Psssttttttt…is this thing on??
4. Holiday Stress.
5. time waits for nobody

Happy 2012! is a post from: Awesomeness Deluxe