P90X

Power 90 Extreme (P90X)

Inventor	Tony Horton
Inception	2003
Available	Yes
Current supplier	Beachbody

P90X, or Power 90 Extreme is a home exercise system developed by Tony Horton in conjunction with Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler, Beachbody Fitness Advisor Steve Edwards, nutritionist Carrie Wyatt, Creative Director Ned Farr, and workout video director Mason Bendewald of MEGA MACE productions. It claims to significantly improve physical fitness in 90 days through a rigorous segmented training program combined with a nutrition and dietary supplement plan.

P90X's advertising emphasizes "muscle confusion", a method of cross-training and periodization achieved through switching the order of exercises and incorporating new and varied movements. Muscle confusion supposedly prevents the body from adapting to exercises over time, resulting in continual improvement without plateaus.

History

Exercise instructor Tony Horton had pursued a career in personal training, and had developed a series of home fitness training programs. In 1998, Horton and fitness trainer Debbie Siebers created a series of workouts called "Great Body Guaranteed". Horton's next fitness program was the "Power90 In-Home Boot Camp", which combined cardiovascular with strength training .

To date, Horton has created six different programs associated with the Power 90 name: Power 90, Power 90 Master Series, P90X, P90X+, P90X One-on-One, and P90X:MC2 (released in 2011). P90X debuted in 2004 to provide a more rigorous regimen for people already experienced with Beachbody's fitness programs.

In 2002 Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler, noticing a gap in products available for people who already had some level of fitness, tasked Tony Horton to create an extreme fitness program so that users "could take it to the next level." He also hired Ned Farr to film its creation so users could "look behind the curtain" and see the process themselves. For the next two years, Tony consulted various fitness experts and experimented with a wide variety of disciplines to find the most effective moves for what became 12 different workouts based on a training concept called periodization, or "muscle confusion," and several 90-day test groups were also conducted to further refine the fitness system. The video diary documentary Ned Farr put together of this process originally appeared every month on Beachbody's website and can now be found on YouTube.

The completed program was released in 2004 and an infomercial was made using this documentary footage. Ned Farr continues to use a documentary approach to the infomercials, using raw home footage supplied by P90X graduates. "P90X: The Proof" infomercial won a Telly award in 2009 and "P90X: The Answer" infomercial won a Moxie award in 2010.

P90X is Beachbody's best-selling product after years of positive word of mouth and heavy infomercial advertisements. Despite sales growth slowing to approximately 30%, P90X represented half of Beachbody's $430 million revenue in 2010. As of November 2010, 3 million copies of P90X have been sold for an estimated $420 million.

Program overview

P90X is a 90-day program that combines a variety of exercise techniques including strength training, cardio, yoga, plyometrics, and stretching. The program consists of a nutrition guide, fitness plan, calendar and series of DVD videos featuring Horton as instructor assisted by several male and female fitness models who demonstrate a variety of techniques. For workouts that require weights, for example, one of the models demonstrates the exercise using elastic resistance bands. The models also demonstrate some moves at lower and/or higher levels of intensity. P90X provides a fitness test to determine if the program is suitable for an individual.

Exercises overview

The P90X program cycle goes 13 weeks, exercising six days per week. The program has three "rotations" or emphases, called "classic", "lean" and "doubles," that the individual selects according to their personal goals. There are a total of 12 DVD workouts included with the program; each targets different skills and muscles. Most of the workouts are less than an hour in duration, although the abdominal workout ("Ab Ripper X") is performed three times per week, after six of the rotating workouts, which adds approximately 15 minutes of exercise to the times in the table below.

Standard home gym equipment recommended for use with P90X: Yoga blocks, yoga mat, dumbbells, pull-up/push-up bar, push-up handles, gloves, and chair

Exercise	Week	Muscles Worked	Type	Ab Ripper X	Length	Equipment
Chest and Back	1-3, 9, 11	Pectorals, Back, Biceps, Triceps	Strength Training	Yes	52:50	Weights or Bands, Push-up bars, Pull-up bar or bands, Chair, Fitness guide and pen, Water and Towel
Plyometrics	1-3, 5-7, 9-12	Legs, Full Body	Cardio	No	58:36	Heart rate monitor, Mat, Stool or Chair, Water and towel
Shoulders and Arms	1-3, 9, 11	Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders	Strength Training	Yes	59:53	Weights or bands, Wall, Chair, Fitness guide and pen, water and towel
Yoga X	1-13	Full Body	Stretch	No	92:24	Mat, Yoga blocks, Water and towel
Legs and Back	1-3, 5-7, 9-12	Quads, Hamstring, Calves, Back	Strength Training	Yes	58:56	Weights or bands, Wall, Pull-up bar or bands, Chair, Fitness guide and pen, Water and towel
Kenpō X	1-13	Full Body	Cardio	No	58:46	Heart rate monitor, Water and towel
X Stretch	1-13	Full Body	Stretch	No	57:32	Mat, Yoga blocks, Water and towel
Core Synergistics	4, 8, 13	Full Body	Strength Training	No	57:27	Mat, Weights or bands, Plastic plate, cardboard or towel, Water and towel
Chest, Shoulders And Triceps	5-7, 10, 12	Pectorals, Shoulders, Triceps	Strength Training	Yes	55:44	Weights or Bands, Push-up bars, Plastic plate, cardboard or towel, Chair, Fitness guide and pen, Water and towel
Back and Biceps	5-7, 10, 12	Back, Biceps	Strength Training	Yes	51:36	Weights or bands, Wall, Pull-up bar or bands, Chair, Fitness guide and pen, Water and towel
Cardio X	doubles	Full Body	Cardio Workout	No	43:18	Stool or Chair, Mat, Yoga blocks, Heart rate monitor, Water and towel
Ab Ripper X	weekly	Abdominals, Core	Strength Training	N/A	16:07	Mat, Water and towel

Nutrition

The nutrition plan is composed of three phases. The first 30 days emphasizes higher protein and lower carbohydrates to teach the user the relationship between carbohydrates and energy. Participants then move to the second phase, which increases the percentages of carbohydrates. The third phase is a higher carbohydrate "athlete's" diet. Users progress through the phases of the diet that coincide with each program change. Each program lasts thirty days. By the end of the third program the user will be in the third phase, or "athlete's" phase of the diet.

External links

• Get Fit, Become a Coach