Bring It: P90X Plyometrics Workout Review

P90X was created by Tony Horton. It is a 90 day workout program broken up into three different phases. The first two phases includes three weeks of grueling training follwed by a recovery week. The final phase is 4 weeks of grueling training followed by your final recovery. P90X was built like this on purpose; it is intended to confuse your body so you can continue to push to the extremes. This is otherwise known as muscle confusion.

I have personally just finished my first round of P90X and have now started on round 2, and have dragged a few victims with me along the way. However, after completing the full 90 days, I have enough knowledge of each workout to give a true and honest opinion. If you would like to follow my journey with P90X, click here to start at the beginning. This is my own personal documentation of the struggles I have encountered along the way. However, I continued to Bring It and I have become stronger because of it.

Plyometrics is probably one of the most extreme out of all the workouts. You will be introduced to it on your second day of doing the program, and with the exception of recovery week, you will never get away from this workout. However, this workout does have an alternative. If you are not ready for Plyometrics (and believe me, after 90 days I sometimes feel I am not ready!) you can always substitute if for CardioX, still a very difficult workout, but not as intense.

This workout lasts for 58 minutes and 36 seconds. This is a dynamic cardio, high impact workout that will have you in the air for majority of the time. After all, it is called jump training, and as Tony Horton has clearly stated, "Nobody said it was going to be easy!" And easy doesn't even come close.

There are more than 30 explosive moves throught the hour. However, it is broken up into segments. You do 3 exercises for 30 seconds and follow with a fourth exercise for one minute. Then you repeat. By the time you have finished, the sweat will be pouring off of you and your legs will feel like jello. But, if you can keep up, not only will this workout get you in great shape, but it will also help your performance in all sports.

Just like all other workouts in P90X, it starts off with a warm-up and ends with the cool down. It is filled with drills that "are designed to connect strength with speed to produce power," according to the guidebook. By the time you are done, you will run faster, jump higher and be able to move and change directions much faster than you ever thought possible. This is definitely the workout to complete if you are looking to improve your game!

The nice thing about this workout is you are not required to track any of the moves. You just need to do it. Which might be a good thing because by the time you have finished each move, you are going to be exhausted.

So keep pushing play, drink your water (not too much though), and remember do not eat at least an hour before Plyometrics. This is extreme and if you aren't used to it, it will have you crawling to the bathroom.

This is a whole lot of jumping. All of the moves are high impact, however they do show you how to modify. The key is to keep on going. Modify if you need to and eventually you will get through the entire workout without a problem. And whatever you do, don't try to keep up with Tony Horton. It just won't happen when you first start out.

These workouts are done in groups of four. Once completed they get repeated before you get a break. So get on your shoes and let's jump to it!

There is a total of 20 exercises that are repeated twice. That means you are doing 40 different moves. This is followed by a bonus sports round, each exercise lasting on full minute.

While I could list the moves, I don't feel it would be beneficial at all. The names of the moves will not show you how to do the moves. But I will tell you that there is a lot of squating and jumping. You will burn a lot of calories and you should make sure to protect all of your joints by landing softly and wearing good, shock-absorbing footwear!

Working Out - The Best Form of Self Torture - When it comes to torturous workouts, Plyometrics might be right on top of the list. However, while it may be painful today, the benefits you receive from any workout will far outweight the negatives.

Sneaky Subliminal Messages - Subliminal Messages is a way to communicate with others by sending messages that pass below the threshold of our conscious mind. Can you imagine what the world would be like if your workout sent you subliminal messages saying, "You can do it?"; "Keep pushing Play!"

The Art of Balancing Life - Life gets busy. Sometimes it is hard to determine where all our time goes. When it comes to working out, it is a necessity to balance life with your workouts. That being said, make sure you get that workout in.

Plyometrics is something that never seems to go away. The first time you push play, I can guarantee you will hate it. After having done the workout for one full round of P90X, I can say it has grown on me a little bit. While I do enjoy the cardio, I am not a big fan of high impact and I definitely feel a little uncoordinated while trying to do the jumping. However, it doesn't stop the fact that this is a killer workout and will put a hurt on those calories.

This workout is beyond extreme and really hard to get used to. I still struggle with this one and I still modify the moves so they aren't all high impact. The high impact hurts my knees and hurts the bottom of my feet. Yet, the moves aren't anything that you need to be coordinated through and if you are persistent enough, you will make it through.

When it comes to favorites, this is right down near the bottom. However, the more I do it, and the more I see the benefits of it, the more it is starting to climb up. I am a big fan of cardio and even though I dread this workout, I wish there was more like this in the program. It will put you to the test, so just keep in mind... you can do anything for 30 seconds!