The strength workouts are great. The ab workout is outstanding, however you will eventually want to add some variation with some of Tony Horton’s other ab workouts (like 1 on 1). For people who are not in good shape, or who have only been doing cardio (which was my case) the workouts can be difficult to get through for a few weeks, and some moves will require modification for some time. I added 2 weeks to the beginning of the program, because that is how long it took me to start to be able to make it through the entire workout video. After 2 rounds I still have to modify the pull-ups by the end of the workout.

Tony makes it fun. If I had the money and lived in Cal, he’d be my personal trainer, without a doubt. I had already lost most of my excess weight before starting the program (45lbs) but P90X helped me add some muscle and get that lean-tone ‘beachbody’ look.

There are some complaints that this workout is nothing new, and nothing bodybuilders haven’t been doing already. I can’t disagree, as workout variation was something we did 15 years ago in high-school sport programs, however it is the first time I’ve seen a full at-home video workout program I can do with going to the gym. And having Tony push things along forces you to really move. I don’t get as good a workout when I have to go to the gym without Tony moving things along as his quick pace with little down-time.

Cons: Its time-consuming. The videos are at minimum an hour, the yoga is a full 90 mins, though I have to say I love the yoga video. The P90X+ and 1 on 1 videos are a bit shorter, but can still take an hour with start-up and cool-down time. I have a wife and young child, and without the leeway I get to be a bit late in the morning to work I don’t know how I’d be able to fit this program in to my schedule. Another pro and con is that its hard. Really hard. Some moves still can require modification even after 90 days, and the pace can make you light-headed. This is a good thing in my opinion, but for people with less will-power or drive, the difficulty can be a deal breaker I think, which is why I see some other people I know only last a week or two before they give up. Another con is the cardio. The Kenpo is boring to me and the kenpo and cardio barely make me break a sweat. Now I started P90X after I had trained a few months for a local 8k, so I was in pretty good condition, at least in terms of endurance. This may be the reason, but I’ve heard others make the same complaints. I switched those two programs for other various cardio instead, like running, interval running, or cycling. I try to keep a pace to wear me out within 20-25 mins. I also wish the core workout added more difficulty, its also a little boring.