fbpx ;

P90X2: Completed!

P90x2 review

There's no shortage of weight lifting in P90X2.

FBG intern and on-again-off-again exerciser Kelsey is trying P90X2, the second version of the super-popular P90X system by Tony Horton. Find out how the last phase went below, and check out how the other P90X2 phases were here!

I DID SURVIVE! Okay, bad take on the song “I Will Survive.” But that’s what I thought when I was done with the last phase of P90X2! It was a toughie, but I got through it. I have officially completed the 90-day program. Woot!

The last phase combined all the elements we learned from the first two phases and applied them in the workouts—though the workouts were few and far between. We had a total of three workouts, one being yoga, which wasn’t as challenging as the other workouts. But the majority of the phase consisted of PAP Upper and PAP Lower, or Post-Activation Potentiation. To me it’s just a fancy term Tony likes to use. (I wonder if he knows what “PAP” means to most women…)

The Upper workout was fast-paced; you used weights and did push-ups, but also did some balancing with your own body weight. I am glad I was able to graduate to 10-pound weights during the program. I think that helped strengthen my workouts a lot. I do feel stronger overall as well. The Med Ball Plank sucked—excuse my language, but OMG. I am not a person who can hold themselves up with their own body weight (yet!), and this one was not any easier on a chair versus a med ball.

The Lower workout consisted of stretching muscles, using weights and building up the lower body. It was a good workout, but had a slower pace than the Upper. One of the moves I liked the least in the lower-body workout was the Side Bridge Leg Lift. This is not a move I have mastered at all, and we’ve done it quite a bit throughout the program. It’s another one of those where you use your body weight to hold yourself up and then, oh yeah, lift your leg up and hold it for a minute. I was doing well to hold myself up and not fall over, let alone hold my leg in the air. I went for the modified version on this one, where you just hold your arm in the air and not your leg.

However, one of the moves I really liked in the Lower workout was Tony’s Triangle. For this one, you lay on your side and lift your top leg in the air and then move it forward as far as you can in front of you and then lift it up, going backwards to make a triangle with your leg. I think being a dancer in a former life helped me with this move, but after 10 of those, it began to get harder and really worked those leg muscles.

Overall, this last phase felt like it dragged out for much longer than the other phases, even though we only spent three weeks on it. I think the repetition of the two workouts just got old. The weather also started getting really nice, so I think that factored in to our lack of enthusiasm to work out inside anymore. We kept getting the itch to go outside and do more productive things, like tend to our neglected lawns and overgrown plants from the previous winter. Oh, and that little-known basketball tournament that was on…NCAA…you know, that one. The guys and I were much more interested in watching those games than working out. Gotta make sure your bracket is holding up right? I’d say, overall, March is not a good month to work out if you want to be productive.

As much as the last phase dragged out, I’m glad we are done with the program and ready to move on to something else. Running, eh? Thanks to everyone for letting me ramble about my experiences from P90X2. I hope you all got some good information from it and try it out for yourself. You never know how it will turn out. Good luck, and please share your experiences below! —Kelsey

 

FTC disclosure: We often receive products from companies to review. All thoughts and opinions are always entirely our own. Unless otherwise stated, we have received no compensation for our review and the content is purely editorial. Affiliate links may be included. If you purchase something through one of those links we may receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!

Comments

4 Comments
  1. Hi Kelsey! congratulations. I quit about 2 weeks into Phase 3 because I made excuses. Congrats on completing it. SO AWESOME!

  2. Samantha Wallace says:

    Way to stick with it and complete the program! I am currently on phase 2. I will say I personally like P90X better than X2.

  3. Greg Barth says:

    Congrats! I just finished as well. Loved the new changes they put into it!

  4. A bit late but congrats!

    I just finished P90X. If P90X2 is anything like the first one, which I’m sure it’s much much more difficult, I’m not so sure I’m looking forward to it!

Comments are closed.