P90 Speed Series

P90 is an update of Tony Horton’s first Beachbody series, Power 90 which was released back in 2000. While there is nothing wrong with Power 90 from an exercise point of view, it does appear quite dated and the production values are poor. Hence, creating an updated version for 2014. P90 is geared toward the person just getting back into fitness or for someone who, for whatever reason, can’t do high intensity or hardcore workout systems that Tony and Beachbody have become known for producing.

The P90 set includes 10 workouts broken up over 4 DVDs. The program starts with the 3 workouts on the A disc which are the shortest in length and meant to be foundation for the other 2 stages. There are 3 more workouts on disc B, and another 3 on disc C. There is a 4 disc which has the Saturday Special workout. For an additional cost you can purchase the Speed disc which has 3 Speed workouts and Tony’s Greatest Hits.

This review is for all 3 of the speed workouts on the additional purchase Speed Series disc.

Setting & Music: The set reminds me of a cross between a gym and a loft. A wooden floor with benches, weights, resistance bands, other fitness accessories and posters in the background. The music is instrumental with a kind of rock vibe to it. I found it neither detracted nor enhanced the workout. There is a music off option. The set is the same in all 3 speed workouts.

Exercisers: Tony works out with 3 background exercisers, 2 women, 1 of who shows the modifications and/or does all the exercises with tubing, and 1 man. Everyone is wearing athletic tops and shorts and no one is noticeably mugging for the camera. While the same ratio, the exercisers are different in Sculpt and in Sweat and Abs.

Speed Sculpt (about 25 minutes)

Equipment: dumbbells, tape H, tubing, door attachment, water, and a towel. A mat and Powerstand push up handles are optional.

Warm Up: The warm up is very short. Exercises include arm circles (forward and back), huggers, twist and pivot, squat reach, and back twist lunges.

Main workout: The exercises are broken into two rounds. There is a 30 second break between rounds 1 and 2.

Round 1: push ups, seated band row, mountain squats, pike press push ups, eccentric band curls, forearm balance kickbacks, Saunders spin lunges.

Round 2: push ups, row your boat, hoppy squats, kneeling upright row/press, plank kickbacks, max curls, lunge/chair.

The cool down is only about a minute and is basically non-existent.

Overall impressions: As demonstrated by Tony this workout is at a high intermediate level. There are a couple of moves that require a lot of core strength because they’re done in plank. This can make it uncomfortable for people with shoulder or wrist issues. This workout is also light on lower body exercises. For such a short amount of time it does cover quite a bit.

Speed Sweat (about 23 minutes)

Equipment: water and a towel. A mat is optional.

Warm up: The warm up is almost non-existent. The exercises include kayak knees and run in place.

Main workout: You do 8 exercises for 1 minute. Sometimes the minute is broken into 2 30 second segments to accommodate the need to switch leads or sides. After you go through the exercises 1 time, there’s a 30 second break before repeating them a second time.

Exercises (may not be in order they appear in the workout): mountain sphinx hopper, fast feet call out, elbow/upper/double duck, high jumps, jab/cross/double block, push kick/block/double duck, lateral H jumps, teeter kicks.

There is no cool down as this goes straight into Speed Abs.

Overall impressions: As demonstrated by Tony I think this is a solid intermediate workout. It gets a lot done in a very short amount of time. I enjoyed it and thought the drill like nature was perfect to fit the short time frame.

Speed Abs (6 minutes)

Equipment: water and towel. A mat is optional.

There is no warm up in this workout. It assumes that you are doing it right after Speed Sweat although you can also access this workout from the main menu.

The workout consists of 5 exercises each done for 1 minute. The exercises are variations of plank moves. The exercises include sphinx mountain climbers, trigger crunches, piston crunch, teddy tapper, and half cracker.

There is also no cool down for this workout.

Overall impressions: As demonstrated by Tony I think this workout heads towards the advanced category. Spending 5+ minutes in plank variations requires a VERY strong core. The modifier doesn’t show modifications that take the pressure of the wrists or shoulders which makes this a problem for someone with those issues. While certainly effective, I can’t say that I enjoyed it all that much.

Instructor Comments:
Tony Horton has A LOT of personality and it seems that you either love it or find it incredibly annoying. I personally love all things Tony Horton and am not bothered by his colorful commentary or sometimes goofy talk.

Sabine Reuter