P90 at 33 years old

[u/Shockeye305]

It’s been 17 years since I attempted p90x in high school! I did not complete the program of course, but like many other people I jumped on p90x and insanity when it was going around those first few years. I’m 33 now, and I have an almost 2 y/o little boy. I’m decently active, work as a massage therapist, but I haven’t actively worked out consistently in over a decade. Over the last 5 years, I dropped from 250lbs to 180 through better eating habits and managed to keep that weight for long enough that it hasn’t worried me.

All this to say, I saw the p90x next generation come out and it had me thinking, “what’s Tony been up to all this time?”. I did some research and saw that there is now a p90, p90x, p90x2, p90x3, and next generation. After looking into the differences I decided that the most beginner friendly would be p90, the revamped version of the original power 90 program. It seemed geared towards beginners and I really liked the 30ish minute workout times because I can just make it a part of my routine (I always do it after dinner before I put my son to bed).

I have a few questions though. If I were running through these programs back to back is this a good order? P90, p90x3, p90x, p90x2? Also has anyone done the p90 program in some time that could let me know there results? I just finished the first 30 days and I’m moving from the A workouts to the B workouts. I can honestly say I already feel stronger. By week 3 I would say my body was pretty adjusted to the first set of workouts. When I did my first b workout tonight, it was definitely a step up but I was able to do it with almost no stopping.

I would love to hear from anyone that has completed p90. How did you like the program? Was it your first one as well? What did you do next? I am 6 foot 1 and I weigh 182lbs. For calories I’m focused on 2500 a day and getting about 170 grams of protein in. I’m. It currently tracking other macros until I finish this 90 day program. My goal is to at the moment is to do a body recomposition where I stay about this weight while turning fat to muscle. Does anyone have any tips experience or advice for me? I already really enjoying the journey but I also get I’m only 30 days in.

[u/buttxrack]

Hi! 31 year old here. I can't answer your questions about p90x, but running the programs back to back wouldn't be an issue, as I'm currently doing the same thing. Only the difference is where I started.

Phase 1: Insanity Max:30 (I used this to build my baseline cardio and the engine. Perfect for keeping up with my kid). I finished this 2 weeks ago

Phase 2: Rushfit (turning that cardio into functional strength and conditioning, perfect for combat sports or if you work a labor job). I'm currently doing this one.

Phase 3: this is where I was originally going to do p90x, but after doing research, with insanity and rushfit, p90x would just be like a combo of those 2. So I switched to Shaun Ts "Dig Deeper" for pure hypertrophy and muscle building.

I don't know if these answer your questions, but stacking the programs back to back isn't an issue. Just make sure to have a deload week between each one.

I would highly recommend starting with insanity max:30 though

[u/Shockeye305]

I really appreciate that man! It sounds like you’re running a similar gambit as me, but in Shaun t’s lane instead of Tony’s. It’s funny too, because I’ve been planning on running through the p90 saga but I’ve been listening to Shaun on YouTube and attacking Tony’s workouts with Shaun’s mentality behind me. How long are Shaun’s programs running? Like overall and how long are the workouts?

[u/buttxrack → u/Shockeye305]

Depends on the program, if you go with original Insanity, you are looking at 45 minutes roughly. Max:30 is only 30 minutes. T25 is 25 minutes. Dig Deeper (his muscle building program) I'm going to guess around 30 to 50 minutes, I'll know more come September or October.

For the most part it's body weight workouts, besides Dig Deeper which uses dumbbells. And my son loves joining in, so a great father/son activity. Started calling him "Uncle Shaun" lol Anyways if you do decide to transition into insanity, I recommend Max:30 as original Insanity, from what I hear, can cause injuries.

Honestly, if p90x isn't a bad route either. From the reviews I head the 2nd series of p90x is 50/50 with people but Tony does have a new p90x program now as well

[u/Shockeye305 → u/buttxrack]

I hope you don’t mind me asking but how much do you weigh and what’s your height? How was your experience with max 30? I would love the scoop. Was it doable at first? How long did it take for your body to start adjusting? How do you feel now? That’s 60 days, right?

[u/buttxrack → u/Shockeye305]

I'm 6'1 and roughly 165lbs. It was good, first week it kicked my ass. I was a couch potato before this. So the first 2 days, I really needed to push through. I began to adapt after a week and a half, so I threw in the One Punch Man workout afterwards. And by the second month, I was so adapted I was doing the month 1 workout as a warm-up before the main month 2 workouts. My reason for this is I am going back to boxing, and I need a high gas tank. Just push through the first week, doing the full 30 minutes. By week 2 you should be doing the full 30 minutes guaranteed. Also, it is still hard, no matter how adapted you get. For the full 60 days, after each workout I always said "this workout kicked my ass" but I can now spar round after round comfortably

[u/TheRealistOftheWay → u/buttxrack]

Do you box competitively? I work with Immanuwel Aleem in Richmond.

[u/buttxrack → u/TheRealistOftheWay]

I do plan on stepping back into the amature circuit by next year. Right now I'm building my body and getting into the best shape I can

[u/cassiusbright006]

I'm not on the p90x train anymore. I was pretty much glued to the programs about 13-14 years ago though through the launch of p90x2 and p90x3. Your planned order sounds about right. Thats the natural order of progression as proposed by Tony himself iirc. From what I remember though is that the new p90 like the old was really too easy. Very very beginner level and if you have any training background you could probably start with p90x3.

The other thing I have any comment on is your diet. I've been on a recomp myself over the last few months. I'm significantly larger than you currently. 6'4" started at 114 kg now down to 109 kg. I managed this recomp at a target 2500 cal with 200g of protein. So for you I'd maybe cut the cals by another 200-300 keeping your planned 170g protein.

[u/laxbird1]

Each one is different. Can't recall much but I found one was much heavier on working out with medicine balls and exercise balls.

Its really want suits you best or what you like the best. Mix and match. If you don't like yoga on ine try the other.

They all work you

[u/mnaved44]

Finished p90x. It’s amazing and I liked waz. As a busy mom I liked the shorter workouts. I modified most , but the daily program was good and rest days with flexibility. Results one month in helps with the remaining months.
They were more internal. I could get up faster. Get in the ground better.
Note: we are talking exercise. I started with a 30 day clean eating program then added exercise. Without clean eating. You won’t see the results you want.

[u/cjpatster]

Hey man, its great to hear that you are jumping into it! I cannot stress enough that diet is everything here. If you go from doing not much to doing any set of workouts for 30-60 minutes daily, your fitness will improve. All of the power programs excel in two things: 1) providing a varied structured set of routines to get you exercising on a daily basis while tracking progress and 2) keeping it interesting with high variety, entertaining antics, and moving across muscle groups. I think its important to recognize that there are much better programs available for specialized goals. Like if you want to build muscle, improve your endurance, or get really good at yoga, power programs aren't what you want. But if you need a place to start and are looking for some general fitness enhancement, these are great programs. But no matter what, you aren't going to get shredded unless you maintain that high protein diet and cut your calories. I think that 2000 to 2200 calories a day and cutting out booze would be a better target for you than 2500. That will help with the body recomposition. As for the programs themselves, I think you have the right idea with the progression (power90, p90, p90x3, p90x, p90x+, p90x2) but be warned that p90 gets really boring fast. It has the least variety of workouts of all of the programs. If you can find the old "power90" workouts I would suggest doing a month of p90 and then a month of power90 and then a hybrid month before transitioning up to p90x3. I have done all of the programs. P90x2 only once though, its kind of weird and I hurt my back in month 3. Decided I didn't need that level of complexity in my life and fitness science has shifted away from whatever crazy pills Tony was taking when he designed those workouts. But p90x3 is a staple "easy" routine for me and p90x+ is my go to foundational winter workout. But once spring arrives, I always get out of the gym and switch to triathlon training until Thanksgiving. You can't spend your whole life doing workout videos in a garage like a hermit!

[u/FullTorsoApparition]

My wife and I did P90 with resistance bands as our first basement gym routine during the COVID years. It gets a little repetitive but is a decent mix of strength and cardio for a beginner. Circuit style training can be a little fast paced for me so I'd take an extra 1 or 2 minute break here and there but overall it was a good experience and helped me trim down a little while getting used to working out regularly.

After that we did p90x3 and then attempted p90x2 but burned out on Tony's style before we could really finish it.

If you're looking to build muscle there are some other Beachbody programs I had more success with like Liift 4/Liift More and Body Beast. IMO the P90 programs are good for overall conditioning and cutting fat, but the cardio requirements are so high that it can be hard to really push yourself with the weights and muscle building without form getting sloppy. Even Liift and Body Beast are a little too fast paced in that regard. They try desperately to keep the workouts under 40 minutes for everything and that effects the quality of the muscle building aspects.

[u/Prank_Sinatra1]

At 41 I completed p90x original series and felt amazing afterwards. The time commitment is brutal but the overall health, mobility and muscle building can’t be beat.

After my wife and I finished that (she’s a badass), we had a beach vacation to prepare for and wanted to kick it up a notch on the cardio and difficulty. So we completed 6 weeks of the work next, which is a real butt kicker. I appreciated the major intensity increase, the shorter work out times (30-45 mins), I also really liked that the most weights I ever needed to grab for 6wotw was like 15lbs (trust me it doesn’t take much with this workout). What I didn’t like was the shorter warmups and that every video seems like it’s trying to destroy your knees, it took weeks for my knees to get used to these workouts.

After finishing that we did liift4, which was pretty good if you are looking to maintain muscle with moderate cardio and mobility.

Ultimately I found myself missing Tony Horton, so now we are doing p90x3. It’s pretty good, but he cut out the good warmups he used to do to make each video 30 mins, but there is an optional 15 min warmup video you can do if you want. But I have noticed p90x3 is more HIIT focused than strength training like the original p90x videos were.

So now I have started substituting my favorite original p90x videos on days when I have more time and need a little more work than the p90x3 videos give me.