I'm posting this P90X Q & A to help the newbies in our P90X forum and for anyone who is thinking about purchasing this product. I have listed some of the top questions with answers below from what others and I have gone through. P90X is a home fitness DVD set that uses some of the old school workouts combined with some newer modern exercises. Beachbody and Tony Horton developed a perfect recipe of exercises that will give you the ultimate body you have always desired. Don’t think you can do the workouts half ass and expect to get great results. You must have the right attitude and determination to get the best body possible.

I have done P90X now for a combined 5 months. I have lost 25 pounds. (I have since taken a hiatus due to a herniated disc of playing too much tennis). P90X Increased my stamina, flexibility ( I could easily put my nose to my knee), and for the first time in my life, I had a six pack! I was at the age of 39 and without a doubt in the best shape of my life! I felt as or better now then when I was 21 yrs old. For those who believe working out in a gym is better than The P90X Program, one day, after I completed the 3 months, I went to the gym to mix it up a little and to see how I would feel during and after working out with free weights. I was amazed with my condition, my energy level and I could lift up to 20% more then I could prior while going to the gym, please keep in mind, I haven't been to the gym in over 9 months! Here is my trasformation.

Now for the Q & A

1. Does P90X really work?

Yes! I believe there are 3 main factors that makes P90X work:

Muscle Confusion: The schedule is 3 weeks balls to the walls exercises with specific routines and then followed by 1 recovery week (mainly core, cardio and stretches). This goes on for 3 months total. Each month the types of exercises changes so you don't plateau.

Diverse Exercises: This program gets rid of the boredom of just going to the gym day in day out or doing aerobics for 60 minutes every day(blah!). You have chest and back one day, then Plyometrics, Kenpo and then there's yoga, yes yoga! I would have never in a million years ever say I do yoga. Yoga is probably one of my favorite exercises in this program. I believe I sweat the MOST doing yoga X compared to any other routine. You also feel very relaxed at the end.

Efficiency: You get 1+ hour of solid sweating, muscle pumping, fat burning, cardio and muscle toning routines. There is very little rest during the routines, which is the right way to workout (unless you want to bulk up). If you go to the gym, count on 10 to 30 min of driving , 15 min of socializing, 20 min total of resting between exercises which equals to about 30 min of actually "exercising" lol.

2. What equipment should I get, do I really need the resistance bands?

This is another big one. Some of you may need the resistance bands - If you have never worked out before then you should get them. If you have worked out in the past and have been to a gym then I recommend getting the weighted dumb bells instead of the bands. Below is a list of items you may want to get.

• Heart monitor (I did not get one until later... I like to know if I'm pushing myself hard enough or not.)
• Weighted Dumbbells (Various sizes - I purchased a set of 10s, 20s and 30s plus 1 50lb for back routines)
• Pull-up bar ( I like the P90X brand, you just add it to a door frame and believe me, it will hold you up)
• Push-ups bars (Get the deepest ones you can find)
• Yoga block (I don’t think you need this - you could use anything, even your push-up bar)
• Yoga mat (blah! Don't waste your money)

3. Should I take a before and after picture?

Absolutely! How else can you how far you came from? Also, post the pictures on the forum for motivation.

4. Am I too old for P90X?

Hell NO! I'm turning 40 and I feel as if I'm 21. Tony Horton will be 50 this year! You will feel fantastic, I promise!

5. Should I immediately start Day 1 as soon as I get the DVDs?

NO. I actually waited 2 weeks before starting Day 1 - I made sure I tried Yoga X, Kenpo X, and some of the weight training exercises at least 2 times to get the some of the soreness out of my system and to have a feel for the workouts. I couldn’t imagine starting the program on Day 1 without knowing what to expect.

6. Should I write down my progress for every single routine?

Yes. Use our P90X excel spreadsheet - Tracking you progress will let you know if you need to pick it up or not. It will also give you a sense of accomplishment.

7. What do I eat? What can I eat, what should I eat?

This is quite long because this is very important. I believe your eating habits will either break or make you. If you maintain a good eating habits throughout the P90X program, your chances of finishing the program with the results you're looking for will increase substantially. A good diet with exercise MUST go together. You cannot do one without the other or you are just wasting your time. You really want to focus on small meals every 2 hrs or so, excluding your bed time of course.

Here are some of my tips:

• Don't eat late: Try to go to bed hungry - if you eat late, especially a heavy meal, it will just store in your body as fat. A good trick is to drink lots of water so it will at least give you full feeling until you go to bed.
• Prepare your meals ahead of time: Cook on the weekends or at night and cook extra. Try to have meals ready for at least two days in advance. Block off a section in your fridge just for prepared meals only. By doing this, you won't be tempted to grab some junk food at work plus it will help you save some cash!
• Stay away from High Fructose Corn syrup: This stuff is baaaaaaad. Don’t believe those commercials on TV. This stuff is THE cause of our obesity problem in the US. The chemical tells your brain you are still hungry. Get your food from a health food store or just read the ingredients. This stuff is in everything!

My Eating Habits: I followed Dr. Ian Smith's book Fat Smash Diet. I wanted to lose pounds and be toned. It starts out with a cleanse period. (9 days of nothing but fruits, veggies, egg whites, brown rice, yogurt and water. See review here. Once the nine days is done, you then introduce meats in small portion. This eating habit worked very well for me.

8. When do most people quit the program?

I've notice most of the users in our forum stop right after the 30 day mark.

9. Should I join your P90X forum?

Absolutely! There are a number of users who has credited the forum for helping them succeed in P90X. Let's face it, going though this alone sucks! Having a group feeling the pain, frustrations and then ultimately success is very comforting. There were times that I just needed a little push from other members. The best practice is to find someone who is just starting out in the "Beginners" area of the forum. That way, you both will be progressing at the same time. BTW, our P90X forum is completely free.

10. Should I purchase the Recovery Drink or take Supplements?

This is really up to you but for me, I took zero recovery drinks or supplements. Some people are very adamant about taking supplements. I believe some may help like whey protein for people who want to gain weight. I went all naturally but that's just me.

11. Should I do other exercises with P90X?

It's up to you if you can handle it. If you are a young one and doesn't get tired then go for it. If you start to slack on the routines then I would cut back on the other exercises and really focus on P90X. You’ll be thankful you did when the 90 days is up.

12. I can't do 1 pull-up, can I still do this program?

Yes. If you can't do one pull-up, just get up on the pull-up bar and slowly decline. Keep doing this for a while then start using your legs to push you back up. You will get stronger. Get the bands... This will make it easier for you in the beginning then toss it and start using the pull-up bar.

13. Can I drink alcohol during the program?

I did. I'd recommend first not drinking anything for the first 30 days. If you do, try to stick to low calorie beer like Miller Lite (I know, it taste like water but it has one of the lowest calories of any beer) or some low calorie drinks. Stay away from the heavy sugar drinks like pina coladas.

14. What is the best time do the routines?

All the experts say in the morning but not everyone can do this. Not everyone is single or doesn't have kids to take to school. If you have the time to do the routines in the morning then go for it. The best time for me is at night. Sometimes I have to wait until 9:30pm (Once my kids are in bed). It's up to the individual.

15. Can I skip a day or two?

We all get ill sooner or later or have a planned 4 day weekend - there is no away around this. Skipping one day is okay, skipping 2 days is not good. My rule is if I miss more then 2 days, I would re-do the current week again - end of story.

16. I'm not seeing results after 30 days, what am I doing wrong?

Have some Patience - As I stated before, most people quit after the first month - I know this because I've seen it on our P90X forums. They get frustrated because they diet and workout very hard for 30 days after years of neglecting their body!?? Come on people! You must have some patience! I see the first 30 days as the "adjusting" period. Your body is in "shock" mode. Some people start to get good results after 30 days, some don't change at all...it really depends on the person. I started to see significant results 2 weeks after the second month. Once you past the 30 days mark, this is when you need to kick it up and really push yourself hard.

17. I'm gaining weight, what's wrong!

This may happen to you in the first 30 days. Like I posted earlier, the first 30 days your body is in shock mode. The second month is when you'll start to lose weight.

18. Can I substitute exercises?

Yes. I couldn't do plyometrics due to bad knees so I did Kenpo twice a week. Also, I would do Abs ripper X before I did my weight training.

19. Do I have to follow the P90X schedule?

NO. However, you should stick to the same types of routines. For example, first day weights, then cardio, weights, cardio and so on.

20. I finished my 3 months, what now?

If you can do every routine to the max without getting sore or you feel as you are not making any progress then its time to get P90X + - Also, mix it up some, go to the gym one week then do a week of P90X. Run or ride your bike but don’t stop doing the P90X routines!

I hope I have answered most of your questions, feel free to comment below.

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Comments (20)

6. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 16-09-2009 16:47 Since you're a tennis player, perhaps you can answer my question.    I'm old (5 but I think I could handle this program BUT I'm not going to give up tennis for three months -- not even for 30 days (at my age I don't know how much more tennis I have left :>). I play four or five times a week, two or three hours at a time, but there's no way I can do aerobic exercises on top of that.    So... is there a weight and/or stretching component in these exercises that I could do separately? I can't spend four hours a day in exercise, so if I can't do this program effectively by cutting back on it to accommodate my tennis days I'll just look for some other program that only uses weights (for, say, 20-30 minutes a day). I guess I'm really asking that, given my restrictions, is this program worth it to me?

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