P90X Extreme Home Fitness with Tony Horton - Set of 13 DVDs

Just throwing my two cents into the ring. I used to lift weights in my early 20s and then fell off the wagon. Stayed relatively thin and kept some semblance of fitness in a labor intensive job but wasn't in shape.

My wife is a personal trainer and exercise videos and infomercials abound in our home, all promising the same things. I just never got it. However, I had begun a small workout routine using body weight exercises (didn't want to have to hit the gym again) of push-ups, pull-ups and an ab routine for several weeks and then I saw the infomercial for this. I was captivated. So we got it.

It will radically transform you if you "bring it" as they repeat frequently. It's a 90 day program, about an hour a day (an hour and a half for the yoga), six days a week. It is time consuming and requires a commitment. But if you do this for those 90 days, even just one cycle, you will transform not only your body but your overall level of fitness and your mental state will be greatly improved by pushing you beyond what you thought you could accomplish.

With a great mixture of muscle building, cardio endurance and functional fitness, this is really a well-rounded program. I went through it once, did it loosely for several months and have jumped back in the ring for another round (P90X Plus is on the way). I am a changed man.

At 40 years old, my cardio stamina, my muscular ability and my flexibility are even better than when I was in my 20s. I could never touch my toes. Ever. Until now. I used to get winded riding my bike up the block to get air in the tire. Now I can ride around the city now barely breaking a sweat. I may not be able to whip off 50 pull-ups but I'm over 10 and can do over 30 push-ups with ease. Not bad for a guy who could barely do 2 pull-ups and 15 push-ups when starting. You may not see me on the cover of some men's magazine but I can honestly say I am in the best shape of my life.

This seems to be in every one of the reviews.

Most of the muscle building workouts use your bodyweight - didn't realize there were so many varieties of push-ups and pull-ups - and the rest use dumbbells. Each routine adds up to about 24 exercises in roughly 45 minutes along with about eight or nine minutes of stretching before and about three or four minutes of stretching after (which are a must). Some routines are 12 exercises repeated twice, others are 24 individual exercises, all done in rapid succession which fatigues the muscles quickly and brings the results.

The other exercise days mix it up, giving your muscles a little relief but giving your cardio and flexibility a boost. The Plyometric routine is brutal and will work your cardio system intensely but it will get you into shape if you push it. I got through about twenty minutes of it the first time. But then it was twenty-five, then thirty and finally I could finish. Now I look forward to it.

Though the Yoga routine is comparatively long (an hour and a half) and requires focus to do, I fell in love with it. It's not the stare at your navel kind of yoga. This is intense. Think you're strong? Wait 'til you have to do a Warrior Three and a half-moon after having moved for forty-five minutes straight without stopping. You will sweat hard even when it looks like you're not doing anything. The added benefits are flexibility and a great sense of well-being when finished.

The Kenpo routine is a lot of fun and is probably the lightest routine of the bunch but a nice way to end the week.

In the 'rest' week in between Phases is added a Core Synergism routine which didn't feel very fluid at first but I've begun to see the point of it and have begun to notice strength in my core. Also added is a Stretch routine which is a refreshing break. A Cardio routine is optional which can be done in place of Plyo or can be used in addition to the regular routine to really kick up the game. It takes elements of all the other workouts just listed above and really does a number on the cardio system. There is enough here to mix and match and keep you fit evey beyond the initial 90 days.

Tony Horton is a jovial guy, kind of annoying at first and something of a show-off, but in time I found him to be very motivational. He is 45 in this video and when you watch him rip off pull-ups like he is light as air and blasts out 20 push-ups with hands and feet leaving the ground, you'll be convinced. He stumbles on occasion (struggles with balance postures) and botches up some phrases ('hit the bause putton') but this makes it more real. He's a great coach and I know the scripts by heart which keeps it flowing. Tony is the man. "Do your best and forget the rest" is the mantra.

I cannot attest to the diet or the supplements and the equipment we use is a bar drilled into the rafters in my basements and a set of dumbbells. No need to get all fancy.

It's hard, it's work, it's intense and it requires serious commitment. But it's worth every penny and every minute.

P.S. Try Ab Ripper X without shoes first. When you get good at it, add the shoes.

Great work out set for the money. Well put together I use it to mix up my CrossFit work out heavy days

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1X5DXPUXJHB7E My name is Blake Warrington and I just turned 49 and am in the best shape of my life. P90X is Extreme Home Fitness, but will get you ripped. The cool thing is you need nothing more than some push-up bars, a chin-up bar, a set of dumbbells, and a "Bring It" attitude.

Also, when you purchase P90X new through Amazon you get the chance to win up to $1,000 every day you workout in the Beachbody Million Dollar Body Game. You just log in your P90X workout into their WOWY (Work Out With You) online gym, do your workout and you are logged in to the daily drawing. My wife won $300 just before last Christmas - it's way cool.

Feel free to hit me up via email and ask any questions you have about P90X - either before or after you buy it. I Would love to help you succeed with this program. BRING IT!

I'm a practicing medical doctor (disclaimer--I'm not giving you any specific medical advice on individual level) and have worked out about 4-5 days a week for years. This is the BEST workout program I have ever tried. Its also the most complete in 1 package approach I've seen. It takes some very cutting edge stuff in excercise science & makes it reality.
What I really like about it is it gives a very effective workout & you get faster results because of its use of muscle confusion which gives more efficient work outs because the muscle groups are constantly changed. It also works out all the major muscle groups & gives cardio, yoga, martial arts & stretching in addition to simple strength training. It also gives a book on dieting. Each specific part-the strength training, dieting, cardio, nutrition, they are all in tune modern scientific knowledge. Even the martial arts DVD has you doing moves that are real martial arts (& I've taken martial arts lessons for years). I'm no yoga expert, but people I know who have done it for years were impressed with its yoga DVD.
I have found this DVD more effective than working out in a high end gym for about 1 hr a day. You don't need much equipment, about $150 worth of equipment tops (some dumbells, a pull up bar, you can get more but this is all you really need).
The only thing I didn't like about this series is you have to spend over an hour a day on several of the workouts. This is very time consuming though you will see results fast. I suggest that some of the portions of the workout be performed at double speed on the DVD player such as warm up & stretching to save time. I've been able to cut the workout down by about 10-15 minutes (to about 45-55 minutes a day) but in my opinion I get the same benefits because I do think the stretching & warm up are on the long side. Aside from that I think this DVD series is the best there is.

A great workout that gives great results. It is a Full Body Workout. Every area of my body has had significant results.