P90X is a 90-day transformation program designed to help you lose weight and build muscle. While it's unique, it's not the only DVD workout program out there. Other long-term, intense exercise programs are great options to help you to get fit and strong, too.
What Sets P90X Apart
The thing that makes P90X so impressive is the intensity that it brings. Many workout DVDs try to shorten workouts to make them more convenient. P90X went in the opposite direction and made their workout programs longer and more challenging.
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Strength training is another addition that makes P90X unique in the exercise world. Even though the program doesn't promote incredibly heavy lifts, they teach dumbbell exercises that tax your muscles.
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An alternative to P90X has to be similar in difficulty. The workouts should be intense and longer than 10 or 15 minutes. A blend of strength and cardio exercises will mimic the fat-burning and muscle-building effects of P90X.
Another perk of P90X is that you don't just get a group of random workout discs. You get a comprehensive program that helps you progress through 90 days. Finding a replacement for P90X means finding a long-term program.
UFC Fit
The Ultimate Fighting Championships are the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Mixed martial arts is a mash-up of different fighting sports like boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu.
Athletes in the UFC are incredibly fit, and this DVD gives you a taste of what their training is like. Mike Dolce, who trains some of the professional fighters, leads all 12 of these workouts.
Like P90X, this DVD series has various workouts that target different fitness goals. There's a plyometrics workout to help you burn fat and get faster. Multiple muscle-building workouts use weights to help you gain muscle definition.
Included in the DVD set is a nutrition guide and workout plan to show you how to piece the workouts together and fine-tune your diet for maximum results.
Insanity
Beachbody, the same company that produced P90X, has an alternative workout program called Insanity. Insanity uses all body-weight exercises instead of added weights like P90X. You'll work for three to five minutes at a time before resting, alternating exercises that focus on different areas of your body.
If you like the plyometrics or cardio sections of P90X, you'll enjoy Insanity. There's more of an emphasis on calorie-burning cardio exercises and less usage of weights for muscle definition. Shaun T teaches the workouts and has a bubbly and energetic personality just like the host of P90X, Tony Horton.
Focus T25
With workouts just 25 minutes in length, you can get in better shape. As per the name, the secret of this workout DVD is in the quick, but intensely focused, workouts. You minimize your work-out time but make up for it by training five days per week.
There are 11 workouts total in this exercise program. All of them use body-weight movements but have a different focus. There are upper and lower-body strength workouts, plyometric and cardio routines, an ab series and stretching protocols.
Like P90X, all aspects of fitness are covered. There's more of a plyometric emphasis in this series, so be sure to use the exercise modifications if you have joint pain.
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XTRAINFIT Personal Trainer
Stephanie Oram is the personal trainer on your screen in this DVD series. Just like P90X, this program lasts for 90 days total. There are 12 workouts total, between 26 and 46 minutes in length.
Get your dumbbells ready, because they're used in many of the workouts. Like in P90X, there's a mix of strength, endurance and cardio workouts. Some use weights and some are only body-weight exercises.
The instructor, Stephanie Oram, is very intent on teaching you proper technique, making it feel more like a personal training session than a group fitness class.