P90X Reviews: A Complete Review on the P90X Workout System

As you probably know by now, Shaun T.’s Insanity Workout is a sixty day workout plan that primarily uses the principles of plyometrics to shape your body into a lean muscle, low fat, and beach-ready machine! To make sure you know what you’re getting into when you enter the Insanity, we’ll be reviewing each of the workouts on the Finish Well Fitness blog. Today, we’ll talk about the second workout, the Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

The Plyometric Cardio Circuit is designed to utilize Shaun T.’s idea of max interval training, in which instead of doing short intervals of activity followed by short rests, you do long intervals of max activity (and still short rests!). The workout itself is forty minutes long, but we suspect you’ll feel like you worked out for well over an hour when you’re done!

The first ten and a half minutes of the workout are considered “warm up.” We put that term in quotes because, for many people, this “warm up” would be a full workout! You’ll do seven different movements (such as jogging in place and jumping jacks) for short periods of time that range from thirty seconds to sixty seconds. Then you’ll take a quick water break. Then you’ll repeat the same exercises, but you’ll have to do them faster. After that? You guessed it. One more water break and then a third time on the “warm up” exercises. This time you’ll warm-up at maximum speed and intensity.

Now that you’re “warmed up”, Shaun T. takes you through seven minutes of power stretching. This gives your cardio a chance to recover while also giving you the important stretch training that you (and everybody who works out regularly) should remember to never forget to do.

Next, you’ll move into the interval training part of the workout. This section is designed just as the “warm up” was. You’ll do three sets of each group of exercises, with each set increasing in speed and intensity. The first set is four exercises that include everybody’s favorites “Suicide Drills” and “Power Squats.” The second set features movements that alternate between standing up and being in push-up position. In your final set, you’ll only do two exercises, and they are cardio based. Your legs will thank Shaun T. for this change up in the last set after surviving those power squats. You’re finally ready to cool down! Believe us, forty-minutes may not sound long, but, when you’re working out at this intensity, it certainly is. You’ll be ready for the cool down.

This workout is particularly heavy on the plyometrics, so you may want to consider a Plyometrics Mat to preserve your knees. Also, on workout days that are this intense, having the proper nutrition in your system is a key element. Check out the Insanity Recovery Formula to make sure you’re prepared.

If you’ve already done the Insanity Workout and want something new but just as challenging, or if you want another workout altogether that’s just as hard, consider the P90X workout!

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