Once upon a time Power 90 was the go to workout. And then P90X came around which pushed Power 90 back into oblivion basically erasing it off the face of the Earth. I was one of those people who did P90X first and later heard about Power 90.
Beachbody sent me Power 90 as an added bonus to a package deal available for anybody who was a Beachbody Coach. I tried Power 90 a couple of times and wrote this review in 2009. Its 2018 and its time for an update.
Here is the thing though. I never did an entire round of Power 90. Reason being is I was conditioned to the time and effort involved with P90X. To do a round of Power 90 after doing P90X would be taking a step back with my fitness.
This does not mean Power 90 is a bad program. After sampling many of the workouts I’d say its one of the better programs Beachbody released. Reason being is the workouts are good and straight to the point. There is no messing around.
I do not have any before and after photos to share. Only my thoughts about the Power 90 workouts I did. Before we get into that you need to know…
What Is It?
The Power 90 Workout was developed by Beachbody and trainer Tony Horton in the early 2000s. This workout is what led up to the creation of P90X. Since P90X was built from a lot of the principles of Power 90 you will find the two very similar. Except for the fact that Tony Horton was wearing some very short shorts through the entire program.
There are two differences between Power 90 and P90X. The first one is time. The average length of a P90X workout is 1 hour long while Power 90 is 40 minutes.
The other is Power 90 is better for people who are not in decent shape already. This makes a big difference because P90X is for people who have built up some level of fitness and are looking for the next thing.
If you consider yourself out of shape then going the Power 90 workout route might be better than P90X.
If you can get by the graphics, gray carpeting, and short shorts you will really like Power 90.
What You Need
To do Power 90 you need either resistance bands or dumbbells. To make the workout more comfortable you may want an exercise mat and Beachbody supplements.
The Power 90 Workouts
Sculpt Circuit Phase 1-2 – Simple moves to tone up your body.
Sweat Cardio Phase 1-2 – Burns fat and sheds inches off your waist.
Sculpt Circuit Phase 3-4 – Next level of toning up muscles.
Sweat Cardio Phase 3-4 – More intense level of fat burning moves.
Phase 1-2 workouts have Ab Ripper 100 at the end and Phase 3-4 come with Ab Ripper 200.
I really enjoyed the Sculpt Phase 3-4 and Ab Ripper 200. Both are no-nonsense workouts that will get you “feeling the burn.” From time to time I will do Ab Ripper 200 and my abs are burning the next day. It’s not as hard as Ab Ripper X, it’s just different.
What Comes With The Power 90 Workout?
Power 90 Workout Guide and calendar to keep you on track.
Fat Burning Express – Get your metabolism going in 35 minutes.
Fat Burner Meal Plan – Shed pounds while still eating the foods you like.
6 Day Fat Burning Express Plan – Lose weight fast.
Measurement Card and Tape Measure – Keep track of your progress.
Free Resistance Band
90 day fat burning and toning workout.
Build your core, thighs, and upper body
Advanced Power 90 workouts.
Targeted workouts to get you ripped in less time.
What could be better than Power 90 workouts? Yes, more Power 90 workouts. That’s what the Master Series is all about. Whats funny about these workouts is Beachbody created the Master Series after P90X was released.
My guess is they saw people enjoy getting their butts kicked for an hour and tried to get a little more out of the Power 90 brand.
The Power 90 Master Series Workouts
Core Cardio – Get your core reved up with an intense cardio sculpting workout.
Plyo Legs – Tony Horton’s intense lower body jumping workout.
Sculpt Phase 5-6 – Tough body sculpting workout.
Sweat Phase 5-6 – A big calorie burning workout.
Cardio Intervals – Burn lots of fat with challenging cardio moves.
UML – Burn up those upper, middle, and lower muscles.
I have tried all of the Master Series workouts once and I liked them. They are not as good as P90X but good enough to occasionally do.
Stream
So its 2018. You probably have no interest in buying the Power 90 DVDs. And that’s a good thing because Beachbody no longer sells them.
The only way to access Power 90 or the Master Series is with a Beachbody On Demand membership.
You can view Power 90 and any other Beachbody workout with the BOD membership for $40 every quarter or $99 a year.
Summary
I have never done a round of Power 90. And rarely do I grab a Power 90 workout to mix into a hybrid program. But its the first workout I recommend to someone who is really out of shape or if they say P90X is to tough for them.
It’s just a really good program from top to bottom. It was such a good program that Beachbody did a remake of it in 2014 and appropriately called it P90.
P90 is basically the same program as Power 90 but with a better production value. Tony Horton is a decade older in P90 but he’s still kicking butt and wearing longer shorts.
Leave a Reply