P90X Extreme Home Fitness with Tony Horton - Set of 13 DVDs

After carefully completing P90X Classic and then P90X plus, I agree with all the positive reviews. There is no false advertising here, except for the assertion that you can finish these workouts in an hour (1 hour, 10 minutes is average). I found I got over the initial soreness in about 2-3 weeks. However, even after that, you go into each workouts knowing that you will be in some discomfort. Nevertheless, if you get through the program, I couldn't imagine not getting positive results. At age 48, my wife was amazed at what I looked like, and all those little aches and pains went away! While I only lost 15 pounds (I was not overweight before I started), the additional strength, flexibility, and endurance have stayed with me for several months after completing my six months of the program.

I am a former fitness trainer and this is the real deal for fitness. I haven't been through all the dvd's yet, but from what I have seen and done so far, I strongly recommend this fitness program. If you are committed, you will not only see great results but you will be utilizing a program that will get you into superb shape. It is not hype and it is unlike most fitness programs and regimens that offer you the same blah, blah, blah that most other training programs and dvd's offer.

As I've prefaced before for another workout regimen, I have lost and maintained a nearly 40 lb weight loss through eating right and working out. Mainly from running on a treadmill and doing a series of DVD's. I don't say this to toot my own horn, but as a base for someone who thinks they are in pretty decent shape to get a feel on how these DVD's are.

This is by far, the most difficult workout routine I've ever done. I'm now on week 3 and I still have soreness. I had soreness from day one, and 15 days later, I still get sore after working out. I wake up being sore and go to bed being sore. Understand what I'm saying here...I'm not in serious pain...my muscles are just sore from the workouts.

To me, the most intense DVD in the whole series is Plyometrics. This DVD will kick your butt BIG TIME. I don't care who you are, or what kind of condition you think you're in...I was sucking wind 20 minutes into it...and I can run 3-6 miles a day. Tomorrow will be my 3rd installment of Plyo, and I must say, in a twisted way, I'm looking forward to it. I kid you not. This DVD alone is worth the purchase price. The Ab Ripper X is also a "mother", as Tony likes to say. Think you've done some serious ab work before? Ha! Throw in Ab Ripper X and get back to me. :o)

The only other piece of equipment I bought was a pull-up bar; which was the Iron Gym $29.99. Unbeatable. I couldn't do a single one when I started, now I can do 5.

Unless you plan on doing the nutrition, don't waste the money on the entire package. You can download an Xcel spreadsheet that will calculate your start date, which routine you should be doing for the day and will allow you to log all of your routines.

The only downside for me was the DVD packaging. Every DVD I've purchased in my life came in a plastic case with the DVD barely suspended above the packaging. This entire set comes in a book format that forces you to slide out each DVD. Even though the sleeves are smooth, they are still made out of cardboard/paper and the scratches have already started showing up. To me that's just unforgivable. You manufacture a product that is prone to scratching and the packaging does nothing to prohibit that, and in actuality, promotes scratching. Stupid. Just plain stupid.

WOW! I thought that most workout DVDs were for pansies...boy was I wrong. If you think I am imbelishing, do the plyometrics workout beginning to end and it will smash you. I did it 4 days ago and I am still sore. The workouts are fun and I have yet to get bored with any of them. An hour workout on typical gym equipment bored me to no end and made it a personal struggle to just do it everyday, but now I look forward to it. P90X is not something to take lightly, but I suggest taking the first two weeks lightly or you will be very sore and maybe even reluctant to finish the program. This is a must to compliment any workout, especially if the gym discourages you or you are bored with your current workout. I still do some standard lifts outside of P90X but for the most part it is all you need. I highly recommend you get the P90X chinup bar, a good shock absorbing mat and if possible dumbells that you don't have to change the weight on manually. Best health investment that I have ever made. Period.

There are already so many reviews on this great series I won't beat a dead horse. Just wanted to say I've had it since June 2008, and love it. This series is WELL thought out! The nutrition is scientifcaly sound. The workouts are hard but "functional" not bodybuilding type. I simply added the dvd's to my running and Crossfit routine, DIDN'T EVEN CHANGE MY DIET, and lost 15 lbs. The studio is great, production values are like a Hollywood studio. Tony Horton is a little cheesy, but a very gung ho instructor. The music is good.The best part is the models aren't "fitness models" they are normal people with normal jobs who were in his test group.
WARNING! P90X is not for wimps! If you are grossly out of shape then I recommend his "easier" series, Power 90. If you are in moderate shape perhaps start with his Power 90 Master Series, which is like a P90X "lite". I love P90X so much I bought the even harder P90x PLUS!
The only equipment you need is a chin up bar, dumbells. and mat. Push up bars are optional but recommended.Heck, just use phone books instead of push up bars if you want.Average run time for the dvd's is about 55 mins. I own lots of other bootcamp style dvd's, but P90x is the gold standard I compare them too!
Again,these are hard core bootcamp workouts! The "X" stands for "EXTREME"! Don't worry if you can't keep up ( like I was) just pop the dvd into the player and "do your best, forget the rest"
BRING IT!!