What to Do After P90X

One of the most common questions from P90X graduates is, “What’s next?” They want to continue growing, but at the same time they want variety. Even Tony Horton has Variety as one of his 11 rules of fitness. So this blog has the alternatives and things to consider when making the critical decision.

First I have to say that I am happy there is a decision to be made. Unfortunately, way too many people don’t even complete P90X. But you did, so I congratulate you. I then have to ask you 1) What did you like most about P90X? and 2) What are your goals for the next 90 days or so?

Generally, I would have to say that there are 4 common alternatives: 1) Do another round of P90X, 2) P90X+, 3) Insanity, or 4) P90X One on One. I will be writing separate reviews and descriptions for each of the programs, but in the mean time, I am going to write a general overview, so you know what to consider. Before I go on, I should say that there will be P90X:MC2 coming out in late 2011. But until then, these are our options.

The Alternatives

Let me first give a 30,000 view of the alternatives. Clearly, you know what P90X is like, and you know what to expect. If you like P90X, it might very well pay to stick with it. I don’t really need to say too much about that.

P90X+

P90X+ is very much like Core Synergistics XXX. There are 5 workouts in the set and it uses most of the workouts from the base P90X set as well. Of the 5 workouts, there are 2 strength workouts that take up 3 of the days, Interval X+ which is somewhat of a Plyo X replacement, Abs/Core+ that replaces ARX, and Kenpo Cardio+ that replaces Kenpo X.

As mentioned there will be a more detailed review later, but essentially P90X+ is much more about muscle endurance than strength. The workouts move quicker and get you sweating more. The exercises are much more like Core Synergistics, where you are doing multiple moves in the same exercise for a time period. For example, there is one exercise where you do one pull up followed immediately one push up for two minutes. There are very few max rep sets.

The benefits are that it gets you sweating and the workouts are only 40-45 minutes each. They do provide variety. The downside is that you will potentially lose some size and strength. However if you like Core Synergistics, you might really like P90X+.

Insanity

Insanity in many ways makes P90X look easy. I describe Insanity as Plyo XXX 6 days a week. It is much more intense, as you are going all out from one exercise to another. It will definitely improve your endurance and leg strength much more than P90X ever could.

The workouts are shorter than P90X, ranging from about 30-41 minutes in Month 1 and 47-59 minutes in Month 2. You add an ab workout 1-2 days a week. The program is also only 63 days long, so there is less of a commitment.

The downside is that Insanity has relatively little upper body work. There are some Core Synergistics type pushups, but they are timed and not max rep. Additionally, it doesn’t help your flexibility as much as P90X doe. It can also be very taxing on your legs.

Here's a video of Insanity for those people who are not familiar with it. It is actually much harder than they make it out to look. The sweat is very real.

P90X One on One

P90X One on One are individual workouts that are released at a rate of one a month. As of this writing, there are 26 available. These are essentially videos of Tony Horton working out in his private gym. While that might not sound attractive, it does allow for versatility. One on One isn’t intended as a program with a specific schedule. You basically use the individual workouts as you choose to, ideally to add variety to the basic P90X set. For example, Fountain of Youth is essentially a 45 minute version of Yoga X. 30-15 is an alternative to Chest and Back. Plyo Legs can replace Plyo X. There is one called ARX2. The Volume 3 workouts are being used as the test kitchen for P90X2.

Here is a video of Tony describing the new One on One volume and how it relates to P90X2.

What Should You Choose

So if you want to know what to choose, it again comes down to what are your goals and what do you like. I have to admit that I strongly recommend that people do Insanity, at some point in time, as it provides incredible improvements for your legs. There literally is no comparison for that. You can potentially do a hybrid, where you combine P90X and Insanity to try to get the best of both worlds. However if you don’t like Plyo X, don’t bother with Insanity.

With regard to P90X+, if your primary concern is variety and you want to change things up, and you like Core Synergistics, this is potentially the program for you. However, you will maintain, as opposed to improve, in all areas, except weight loss and endurance.

One on Ones are definitely a way to mix things up. The workouts are very similar in nature to P90X workouts. However, you have to pick and choose individual DVDs, or just get all of them. With 26+ possibilities, there are clearly many options. However there are probably only a few you will use on a regular basis.

What Matters Most

In the end though, what matters most is that you do something that will.  It is great if it meets your goals and likes, but doing any exercise is always better than doing no exercise. You can very quickly lose your strength gains, while gaining back any weight, if you do nothing. P90X is great in that it keeps you coming back for 90 days. Ideally, you should keep coming back for a lifetime, no matter what program it is.