P90 X 2 Reviews – What You Need to Know

It’s been over 15 years since P90X burst onto the fitness scene, promising ripped physiques and chiseled abs. For those who put in the work, not only did P90 X deliver, but it became the benchmark for every muscle workout regime that came after it. We read a lot of P90 X 2 reviews and they are perfect. So in our article is everything you need to know about this amazing exercise program.

P90X2 follows a similar path to P90X. 30-minute workouts remain plus the diet and health advice that really does add value. The difference in P90 X 2 is in the focus of each workout; instead of the ripped physique, P90X2 workout schedule is all about pure athletic ability.

P90X 2 is broken down into 3 phases, with you being the judge of when you’re ready to shift up a gear. Each new phase is basically a trade up in difficulty, training new parts of your body and ensuring you never suffer from that dreaded plateau.

P90X is a great place to start

I’ve got to jump in at this point and mention something important. P90X2 is a heavy exercise workout program, designed for people who really want to get into great shape.

If you’re just starting out, you’re best to begin with P90X to build your strength before jumping into P90X2 workouts. It might take longer, but your body will thank you later.

Equipment Needed For P90X2

Not all this equipment is required, but if you’re serious about gains, then they’ll make your workouts much more effective.

• Pull-up bar – Sure, you can get by with bands, but a bar is the gold standard.
• Dumbbells – I’ve always been a dumbbell guy rather than resistance bands.
• Stability ball – Not strictly needed but just about the best way to achieve a strong core for sports – something P90X2 excels at doing.

The Three Phases of P90X2

Phase 1 – Getting the foundation right

Phase one is really all about getting you acquainted with the P90 X2 workout style. You’ll soon learn most of the warm-up moves, which stay pretty much constant throughout the regime.

One positive I’ve always found in both P90X and X2 is that the warm-ups really do help you become supple. I know what you’re thinking, everyone wants size and strength, but the P90X2 warm-ups really help to improve how your muscles feel.

There are 7 workouts in total across phase 1. It’s carefully split up so that you workout hard 4 out of 7 days of the week, with a rest period between to allow for muscle development. Day 7 is called the Ab Ripper workout and is designed to fit in and around the other 6 days. This kind of flexibility is what makes P90 X2 unique – you can mix and match to find out the regime that delivers for you.

Personally, I tend to sprinkle the Ab Ripper workout throughout the month. Sometimes I just use it to avoid overtraining and concentrate on something else for a day. I’ve also found the Yoga day helpful for this too. It really helps to avoid injury whilst still giving you a training day to work towards.

I worked through phase one in about 4 weeks. Having said that, I’m a fit guy who has experience with P90X already, so moving on was easy. If you feel you need another week or two, then run with it.

At the end of the day, you do you – that’s what P90X2 is all about.

Phase 2 – Building out strength

Phase 2 builds on everything you’ve come to expect from P90X2 from phase 1. 4 hard training days, 1 yoga day and recovery days to help build out those muscles. One major difference between phase 1 and 2, is the use of dumbbells and pull-ups. This is where P90 X2 begins to work on your strength.

In phase two, you’re also going to start using stability balls to balance on. For me, this is what really started to make a huge difference to my overall strength. Forcing your body to balance itself, began to build muscles right across my core. Unlike P90X, P90X2 is all about athletic endurance and strength – the balancing is not about building muscle as much as it’s about strengthening what’s already there.

Personally, although I haven’t added much muscle weight, my core just feels stronger. That translates into more repetitions and just a sense that my overall abilities have improved.

It’s this improved athletic ability that P90X2 is all about.

Phase 3 – Performance gains

In phase 3, the regime starts to split out your hard training days into two groups called P.A.P Lower and P.A.P Upper. P.A.P stands for Post-Activation Potentiation, which basically means training for a particular type of movement, such as back squats, to help athletes jump higher.

Once again, P90X2 is all about helping you build athletic performance rather than muscle size. Most of the P.A.P exercises are about sheer explosive power, helpful for short running bursts, throwing or jumping.
Some people don’t enjoy phase three, and I can understand why. P.A.P workouts tend to target your body’s same sections, making many of the exercises a bit same. However, my advice is to really stick with it – once you see the benefits in any sport you play, you’ll be hooked.

My P90 X 2 Reviews

Coming from P90X, I knew exactly what to expect. The first two phases are great ways to build general strength and keep your core supple, whilst phase 3 is where sports geeks will see their biggest gains.

As I’ve gotten slightly older, I play team sports less and less. Therefore, I didn’t spend quite so long on phase three, preferring to make gains to my overall core strength instead by sticking to phase 2. What I would say is that there’s more than enough in P90X2 regardless of what type of athletic strength you’re after.

If you’re strictly looking for muscle weight gains, you will be disappointed by P90X2. For this, you really should look at P90X instead.
P90X2 is all about the challenge to become as good an athlete as you can – it certainly got me hooked.

My P90X2 Review Results

When I started X2, I already weighed in at 158 lbs. I’m a regular gym visitor so I already had a somewhat strong core.

After finishing X2, I had gained 8 lbs – not bad for a regime that’s not about gaining size! One thing I will be honest about is that P90X2 hasn’t made too much of a difference to the way I look. My biggest gains have come from feeling fitter, stronger and more confident in general.
I’m now capable of pulling 20+ pull-ups and 85+ push-ups. That’s a huge gain on where I was before, all thanks to muscles in my core that never got a look in with previous workouts.

Body measurements

Before

• Weight: 158.1 lbs
• Waist: 31
• Hips: 35.5
• Chest: 37.5
• Biceps: 12.5
• Thigh: 21.2

After

• Weight: 166.2 lbs
• Waist: 32
• Hips: 36.5
• Chest: 38.0
• Biceps: 13.6
• Thigh: 22.4

P90 X 2 Reviews Verdict

Don’t but P90 X2 for muscle mass gains. Instead, buy it for athletic ability and building out a core that will serve you for a lifetime of sport. Thank you for reading our P90 X 2 reviews.