Workout Video Reviews - P90X, WBX, Insanity, 10 Min Trainer

In team sport, the coach plays an instrumental role in unlocking the players true potential and eventfully win championships.  The same can apply to fitness as well.  The right coach can formulate the right training routine that provides the right amount of challenge to make the workouts feel rewarding and makes the customers hunger for more.  On the contrary, picking the wrong program not only won’t help you lose weight, overtraining can easily discourage your mind and promotes dangerous injury.   This is the foundation of creating Workout Buddy X – an achievable and optimal weight loss solution for people of all fitness abilities. 

While we cannot review every online workout program, and every personal trainer in your local gym.  We have carefully tested some of the most popular fitness video programs.  Before you or your friends invest time and money in a fitness program, check out the following reviews base a group of people in a wide range of age, gender, and physical abilities.

P90X

What is it:  90 Day extreme home training program focused on muscle building with the training philosophy of “muscle confusion”.  Trainer Tony Horton was once a stand-up comedian. His stage presence carried well to the screen. Some user may find his jokes annoying, but mostly the light humor keeps the workout video a bit more entertaining.  Half  (6/12) of the videos are targeted weight training exercise  (Ex. Back & Biceps in one day,  Shoulder & Arms the next day).  The other half are mixed with cardio, yoga, plyometrics, and kickboxing, etc. 

Workout time:  The cardio videos are about 60 minutes, but the targeted training days are 60 minutes + 15 minutes of abs at the end, which  makes it 75 minutes.  The yoga day is 90 minutes.  For the strength training days, the ab workouts are located separately after a 60 minutes training with cool down.  If you do  P90X, we recommend skipping to finish the 15-minutes ab video (Ab Ripper X),  then  rewind the DVD to do the cool-down. 

Requirement:  The product advertiser that you can get the same result with resistance bands instead of dumbbell and pull-up bars.  But in reality, we found that a set of dumbbells and a pull-up bars are still essential to get the similar results as they advertise. 

Cost:  $120 + $20 shipping = $140


Additional Equipment cost:  Pull-up bar: $30, dumbbell set:  $40 - $80 =  up to $110 in additional equipment.


Who is it for:  P90X is a great alternative for hiring expensive personal trainer to do targeted muscle building routines.  Out of the all the product we evaluated, P90X requires higher additional investment.  If you have prior athletic training and was in a pretty good shape, P90X provides a good alternative home fitness solution.  Since it does require a lot of upper body strength to do the pull-ups, push-ups, weight lifting, etc, some woman will find the weight training days extra challenging. 

Training Principle:  Muscle Confusion

INSANITY 

What is it:  A 60 day super intensity cardio interval training promise to deliver extreme results for the most physically and mentally motivated individuals.  No weights and no equipments required for all videos.  However, for the same reason, the variety of moves is also very limited.  In fact, most of the videos are very similar.  You get 10 DVDs, but there are not that many different moves.  For example, you may do a drill that combines “Burpee with 3 push-up”, then tomorrow you’ll be doing “burpee with 8 push-ups”.  You will be doing a lot of high intensity moves that requires jumping.  The explosive movement is highly effective in burning calories, but at the same time, it puts more stress on your joints.  Even though it’s only a 60 day program, this is the hardest one to complete.  In fact, a lot of test users who are in decent physical shape had a hard time completing the 10-minute “warm-up” which consist of jump-and-jack, butt-kicks, high-knees, etc.  “Interval training” is about mixing short burst of high intensity exercise with recovery period.  Insanity extend the high intensity drills and shorten the low intensity drills, in order to prolong the Afterburn Effect.  If you can actually complete it, you can burn up to 1,000 calories per workout.  However, that’s a big “IF”!  Not only that it’s very physically taxing, since there is less variety of workouts, it is also mentally challenging to do the similar intense moves everyday.

Workout Time:  Day 1 to Day 30:  about 30  - 40 minutes per day.
Day 31- 60:  65 minutes to up to 86 minutes of hardcore insane workouts.  The 2nd month was very challenging for our test group users who were able to complete the first month.

Principle: Max Interval Training

Cost:  $120 + $25 Shipping & Handling fee = $145

Who is Insanity for:  While no equipment is required, Insanity is designed specifically for people already in above average physical shape.  You will be doing similar moves everyday, but you will still feel “the rush” and sense of accomplishment when you do finish each workout.

For beginners and average users, it will take a lot of mental discipline to complete the full 60 days without feeling discouraged both physically and mentally. 

Not recommended for people in beginner physical shape, and requires extra caution for people with prior injury, especially in the knees, shoulders, ankles, lower back, etc.

WORKOUT BUDDY X 

What is it:  Workout Buddy X is a dynamic training program designed for beginners, elite athletes, and everyone in between.  The training routine combines highly effective moves from interval training, functional strength training, cardio kickboxing, kettlebell training, and yoga.  By constantly mixing intensity and variety, WBX is one of the most effective weight loss solutions available today.   Users are recommended to complete up to 6 workout per day, each video is about 10 minutes long.  Each day has a different “theme”.  For example “Total Body Evolution” workouts are animal-style interval training, and UFFC consists of 6 cardio kick boxing workouts.  The workout start at a slower pace, but progressively gets harder.

Additional Requirement: The current version is available exclusively online only, so a broadband internet access is required.  No DVD version is available yet, but you can hook up a laptop to a larger flat screen tv.  Because it is required to be viewed in front of a computer, all moves are designed for minimal amount of space. I.e., dorm rooms, small bedrooms, hotel rooms, etc.  About 70% of the exercises require no weights, and the other 30% requires dumbbell, medicine ball, or kettlebells.  However, since most of the resistance training moves are adapted from kettlebell training, which promotes a more “nature” way human body move weights, the weight training can easily be replaced with a 1-gallon water bottle with a steady handle.

Who is it for:  Beginners who want to develop functional strength, and start losing weight the smart and efficient way.

Intermediate users who want to start challenging themselves with more advanced training and accelerate weight loss.

Advanced athletes who want to challenge their endurance, add highly defined lean muscle tone, boost stamina, expand mobility, develop deep core strength, and improve all aspects of fitness. 

The current workout program is designed specifically for losing body fat and building lean muscle tone, which translate to the“fit & ripped” body look , but it is not for “bulking up”.

Training Principle:  A fusion of Afterburn Training, Functional Strength Training, FAST (Flexible, Agile, Strong, Toned”) Kettlebell training.

Cost:  $19.95 per month or $39.95 for the full 12 week program. Sign up for 7 Day Free Trial Offer - Click Here

10 MINUTE TRAINER 

What is it:  You get four 10- minute quick workouts that combines cardio and resistance training that targets multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Yes, what they say it’s true that you can get a more efficient workout in 10 minutes by training multiple muscle groups.  However, this concept is nothing new.  In fact, you’ll find many of the exact same moves in Insanity, P90X, and Workout Buddy X.  So in reality, each 10-minute workout here is about as effective of doing 10 minutes of the other exercise programs.   In other words, you burn about 1/6th of the amount of calories, comparing to doing P90X or Workout Buddy X for 60 minutes. 

Who is it for: 10 Minutes Trainer  provides a decent workout for people are out-of-shape, and looking for a very doable fitness program. 

Not recommended for people who are more serious of losing weight and getting in substantially better shape. 

Price $80 + $10 shipping = $90

Truth about 6 Pack Abs - Top 3 Secrets

How much have you money and time have you spend on different type of ab belts, twister, flex belts? And what kind of results have you gotten? If not, are you wondering why you still can’t lose the belly fat or get the 6 pack abs you have been dreaming of?

First, let me ask one thing. When you do push-ups and chest fly, do you expect to make your chest muscle smaller, or larger? The ab muscle is the same as any other muscle groups, you can train them to make them stronger and more toned, but it’s literally scientifically impossible to “spot reduce” any section of your body. That’s a myth have been busted over and over again. Everybody has 6 pack abs. In fact, most people love them so much that they put a layer of protective fat to cover them!

You may see claims on tv that certain automatic ab flexing belts sending electric pulse will make your ab muscle do the work automatically, like doing sit-ups for you. Sounds pretty amazing right? Well, even if the claims are true, crunches and sit-ups are some of the LEAST EFFECTIVE exercise to lose belly fat at the first place. And here is why:

If you want to lose belly fat, you have to burn a certain amount of calories and fat. To be exact, to burn 1 pound of fat required 3500 calories. Doing crunches or using ab flexing belts uses the ab muscles only, which burns very small amount of calories at the first place. Studies have shown that doing 50 sit-ups burns about 10 calories. If you do that math, that’s 17,500 sit-ups just to lose 1 pound of fat!

HOLY CRAP! THAT’S A LOT OF SIT-UPS! WHAT DO I DO?

SECRET # 1: BURN FAT WITH MULTIPLE MUSCLE GROUPS 

Well, the good thing is that we are all born with other large muscle groups that burn more calories, such as your legs, your back, chest, etc. And, if you workout the smart and efficient way, you can work multiple muscles simultaneously, which guess what? BURNS MORE FAT! So, if your primary goal is to lose weight and get fit, unless you have hours to spend at the gym every single day, we highly recommend you work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, versus isolated muscle training.

SECRET #2: FOCUS ON CALORIES BURNED AFTER THE WORKOUT 

You burn calories 24/7, so why be so obsessed with how many calories you burned during your exercise? It’s been clinically proven that shorter burst of high intensity exercise (HIIT) triggers the phenomenon called the EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), or more commonly known as the Afterburn Effect, which basically means your body continues to burn more calories and fat for hours and hours after the workout. So, for example, if you do cardio exercise for 60 minutes and burn 500 calories, the Afterburn Effects stops immediately. You burn 500 calories total. On the other hand, if you do a high intensity interval workout for the same 60 minutes and burn 500 calories, then you burn an additional 400 calories in the next 48 hours after the workout, you would then burn a total of 900 calories!

SECRET # 3 ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN 

Now that you know how to workout the smart and efficient way, you gotta eat the same way too. If your diet is poor, then your weight loss progress is going to be poor. A proper diet is critical to your success in getting the 6 pack abs, but noticed that we place diet below the 2 workout secrets. The reason is that “diet alone” is a known receipt for failure. Many people focus on dieting without exercise by consuming very little amount of calories. The problem with that is your metabolism actually slows down, so even if you consume less calories from dieting, you also burn less calories per day. What’s even worse is that extended time of starving makes your body go into “survival mode”, which then the instinct is to “STORE FAT”.

 A smart diet & nutrition guide should be easy to follow, and more importantly sensible and achievable on a long term basis. We recommend eating at least 5 meals per day, at smaller portions. Focus on eating “clean” and natural food that are high in fiber and protein, which further help speed up metabolism and burn fat. Eating a proper amount of fat is ok. We are not telling you to fill up with burgers and fries, but eating good fat such as olive oil, almonds, walnuts, etc are great for you joints and keeping you full.

The truth is that to have any “visible” evidence of 6 pack abs, you need to cut down your overall body fat percentage, to about 8%. That might sounds daunting to many of us, but many people are able to achieve that within a few months, by doing the right way of exercising and dieting. And yes, you have to do all three. But the good thing is that you really don’t need fancy equipment, and spending tons of money on supplement and protein power, etc. Continue your training with WorkoutBuddyX.com, and you will get noticeable results. We’d love to hear from your experience in getting the 6 pack abs. Please feel free to provide additional comments below.

3 TIPS TO TURN FRIENDS INTO THE X-FACTOR OF ACHIEVING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS

Doing sports and working out is not only more fun with a friend.  In an ideal world, you and your friends can help each other to stick to the schedule, correct form to prevent injury, push each other a little bit harder, help each other to eat right, and ultimately, achieve the weight loss goals together.

Unfortunately, we all live in the real world, where distance, schedule conflicts and different skill levels can substantially hinder the possibility of working out with a friend.  Here are the 3 main obstacles (aka, “LIFE”), and some easy tips you can implement to overcome the obstacles. 

OBSTACLE #1:  EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT SKILL LEVEL

A few years ago, my college buddies convince me to try snowboarding with them. I can surf and skate a little, so we thought that we could learn snowboarding on the spot without professional lessons.  We found a mutually agreeable Saturday, drove up the mountains, got geared up.  My friend promised to teach me. Then, 5 minutes after we got off the lift, my friends took off and left me thumbing and falling for the rest of the day. That sucked.

It’s not that we are not good friends, it’s just the gap between our skill level was too big that it wasn’t fun for a Level 10 snowboarder to hang out at a bunny hill, and it was way too dangerous for me to even try the black diamond.  (Despite the incident, we remain friends till this day) 

This is the same challenge when you try to workout and lose weight with a friend.  Whether your activity is playing sports, biking, or as simple as running together. Everybody has a different optimal skill level of performance where the activity has the right amount of challenge and the workout is most effective.  Even if two friends start with beginner level (say dancing), one person often learns the sport faster than the other. Then the same activity becomes not as fun for you two. 

SOLUTION: FIND A SKILL-NEUTRAL ACTIVITY

We recommend team sports such as baseball, basketball, and football.  Team sport could work well here since each person can excel in a specific position and the whole team can enjoy it together. 

For Workout Buddy X routines, we painstakingly designed, tested, then revised, and re-tested different modifications of exercises that are similar, but still deliver optimal results for beginners, intermediate and advanced users.  Our testing method was quite simple.  1) We created different workout groups by mixing people of all gender, age, and shapes. 2) put them in a room together to do a WBX workout. 3) when everyone can find an intensity level that they can accomplish yet remains challenging and enjoyable, we know we have a winning receipt.

If you and your friends live in close proximity, we highly recommend you and your friend join forces to do a WBX workout at least once a week.  This will help everyone stay on track.  The Level 3 folks can also act as a team leader to push the groups a little further!  And most importantly, remember to have FUN!

 OBSTACLE #2 LOCATION CONFLICTS

Friends move, get married, have kids, have new jobs, or you are the one that moved for a job and your friends are no longer within arms reach. For some of us, it’s simply physically impossible to find friends who live in close enough proximity to workout with you.  

SOLUTION: WORKOUT WITH NEW FRIENDS

But fortunately, the solution is also quite simple. MAKE NEW FRIENDS!  Do you have co-workers, classmates, new roommates?  Sports and exercising is one of the most fundamental and rewarding activity new friends can do together!  So don’t be shy. Use working out as an opportunity to make new friends.  Remember that everybody wants to look better and feel better. 

OBSTACLE #3 SCHEDULE CONFLICTS

For those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs, schools, kids, etc, it’s always hard to schedule group events. Even if we all have similar 9-5 work schedules, it’s still challenging to find friends in the same workout schedule, and physical meet with you. 

SOLUTION: MAKE WORKING OUT A PRIORITY

The truth is, you can always find excuses to skip exercising and eating right. But honestly ask yourself, was it REALLY that impossible? I’m not say that it’s not challenging, but if it’s not literally impossible, skip the excuses and start exercising first. You’ll be done before you know it. Not only that exercising is a key factor to lose weight and get healthy, it is also scientifically proven to improve you mood, help your brain functions, which could drastically improve your other work productivity! So next time when you and your friend already scheduled a workout session, DON”T FLAKE! Remember that the short 30 –60 min workout could potentially shorten the time on your other tasks.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS?

Now we'd love to hear from you.  From our blind studies, we found that members working out as groups are able to stick to the plan much better than the ones working out alone.  The result has been impressive.  Workout Buddy X groups on average lost 230% more body fat than the members doing it alone. What are your experience in working out with your friends?  Are you seeing the same results we are?  You can share your thoughts in the comments below.