Creating a Hybrid
I get a lot of questions about my hybrid workouts, especially from people who want to do something similar but don’t have the exact same programs that I have. So they often want to know what they should substitute for the workouts I am using. I am happy to give my opinion, but remember, this is YOUR workout, so you can cater it to what YOU want to accomplish. Let me lay out the overall philosophy I used when creating my hybrid workout:
1) I want to build muscle. This means I need 3 big lift days per week. I chose to keep 2 of the big P90X lift days each week PLUS add a different lift day to give me a change of pace (for this, I went with P90X Plus , Insanity Weighted, and 1-on-1 lift days).
2) I want to get the most out of my cardio days. This means I need the full intensity of Insanity cardio, since it is the superior cardio workout on the market. When I was trying to shed a lot of body fat, I was doing 3 Insanity days per week. Now that I’m not trying to drop body fat, I only do 2 Insanity routines per week to maintain my cardio fitness level.
3) I want to make sure I work my core and abs hard. This means I have 2 days that are abs/core only (no lifting and no cardio). On these days, I am doing a double ab workout. These days also serve as my “rest” day since I give my major muscle groups a rest and don’t do any cardio. I also like having my ab days separate because I am not tired (at the end of a lift day) and can really push hard on the ab exercises. Plus, I never have a workout longer than 1 hour this way. It makes my daily routine more consistent (whereas during Round 1 the lift + AbRx days were 1:20 and the cardio days were less than 1 hour).
So that’s how I developed my hybrid. Pretty simple, huh! It’s also important to think about how the lift days compliment each other to make sure I am working each muscle group each week. As you develop a routine customized to your goals, you will want to visualize the best way to order the workouts. Your hybrid can be elaborate like mine, incorporating multiple workout programs for variety and specific goals, or it can be simple with substituting one type of workout (like Insanity cardio) for another (like the P90X cardio).
And, of course, if all of this seems overwhelming, you can always stick with P90X Classic by the book, or Insanity by the book, etc. Or you can copy my hybrid if you like it. It’s up to you! Just make sure you give it your all, push play every day, and Bring It / Dig Deep!!
Honestly, coming up with my own hybrid has kept it fun and exciting as I go from Round to Round. I have targeted upper body muscle building, ab / core strengthening, and cardio endurance. If you have different objectives, taylor your workout to meet those objectives. Use either just the programs you have, or consider adding other programs to give you more variety and options on developing your hybrid. Let me know if you want feedback on the workout plan you come up with. I’d love to help!
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Coach I will be finishing yet another round of P90X within a few weeks!!! I’m totally looking forward to change and am super excited now that I have Vol. 2 and everything thus far from Vol. 3 of T Horton’s 1-on-1 program. I want to create a firm schedule strictly consisting of the 1-on-1′s until P90XMC2 comes out next year so as to keep things exciting again and prep my self for the coming new stuff!!! Have you researched the 1-on-1′s enough to be able to clearly recommend a M (CHEST+ABS) T (LEGS) W (ARMS+ABS) TH (YOGA) F (SHOULDERS+BACK+ABS) type schedule from the 1-on-1 series? I cant find anyones recs online and was going to dig into my Volumes to create the new schedule but wanted to pick your brain as well. Make sense?
Hey Todd. I have only selected 1-on-1′s and I like using them as part of a hybrid, but I’ve never tried to come up with a total 1-on-1 hybrid. You can see from looking at my hybrids that I like 30/15, Just Arms, the new Shoulders and Arms, Diamond Delts, Killer Abs, ARX2. I also like UML, Butt & Belly, and FOY yoga (if liking yoga makes sense …) but I haven’t specifically put those into my hybrid. I just add them in as extras from time to time in addition to my regular schedule. After you work on it, let me know what you develop because I’d love to see it!
coach wayne could you explain wich days do you lift weigth and when do you do Insanity Workout i only got P90X and Insanity Workout i just finished Insanity Workout .could you help me on this please
If you want a hybrid with just P90X and Insanity Workout, it makes the most sense to do P90X lift days on 1,3, and 5. Do Insanity Workout cardio on days 2, 4, and 6. And take a rest day on Day 7.
thanks.im looking foward to get better results with this.because j gainned a lot of pound specially on my stomach area,where it s my concern.i can not drop a single inch from that area
Hey Coach I am In my phase 1, round 1 Recovery week. Bringing it everyday…
I have been subbing yoga and kenpo for Max Cardio Conditioning.
In my second phase. I am planning on doing doubles I will do Insanity Workout Pure Cardio, before my workout on my lift day (Mon, Wedns, Fri) along with ab ripper.
I also wanted to do the Mikey Muscle Stack in the evening. Do you think this is overtraining… Or do I have the Green light to go Tear It up…
~ Demitris
Demitris, go for it! You are an animal! If you feel like you are wearing yourself out, then you should back off a bit, but if your body is feeling good, by all means tear it up!
Wayne,
I’m about to finish up my 2nd round of Insanity Workout this week and I’m aiming to start a hybrid round of P90x and Insanity Workout after a week of recovery and a little rest. I’m wanting to still stay on the weight/fat loss track so I’d like to do the Lean workout program.
Which Insanity Workouts do you think I should substitute in this hybrid? Like you, I love the fat burning quality of Insanity Workout and I want to build some solid muscle mass. I’m not looking to get jacked. I really just want to be core-strong, have great cardio endurance and rock-solid musculature.
Also, how should I approach my nutrition? Should I go back to a Phase 1 type of diet as specified by the P90X Nutrition Guide?
I’d appreciate any suggestions.
Jed
Hey Jed, I wouldn’t go back to phase 1 on the diet. Stay where you are at on that. If you are doing good with the MAX workouts, I’d keep doing those 3 days per week (you pick which ones you like best), and then rotate in some lift days from P90X. If you only want to do 2 lift days, do the Day 1 and Day 3 lift days for month 1, then switch for month 2 to the Day 1 and Day 3 lift days from month 2. It would also be a good idea to work Core Synergistics into your mix because that’s a great full body / core strengthening workout.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, Wayne.
I’ll give it a go. I’ll be posting my results in the coming weeks!
Hi coach Wayne,
I very stoked with all the hybrid ideas.
In my case, I am looking to see how I can do P90X , Insanity Workout , AND add the brazilian butt lift program in there some how :)… Thanks!
Coach wayne my goal is to loose body fat i wanted to start my P90X but i wanted to know even though its my 1st round can i do a hibrid work out like P90X and Insanity Workout or should i just stick to P90X classic for my firsrt round.
Hey Victor, it depends on your conditioning level. If you are rather fit, sure, start with a hybrid. If you aren’t in good cardio shape, start with just P90X and then switch to Insanity Workout for the cardio days once the P90X cardio isn’t pushing you hard enough.
great information you are providing. i completed one round of P90X and lost about 35 pounds. Would now like to do a hybrid. I am wondering if you do legs at all or do you believe that Insanity Workout works them out enough? I tried the insantiy and was thinking of keeping both P90X lift days, lifting a third day upper body and dong Insanity Workout three days a week.
That’s my thoughts exactly. I do a third upper body lift day because the Insanity Workout HIIT works the legs as much as they need.
Thank for your help. What do you do during Insanity Workout in order to rest your chest and tri’s. I was thinking of doing mountain climbers or substituting something similar. Does this sound right?
Yes, on the pushup moves, I modify by doing something else or by doing the move without the pushup portion of it. So yes, you’ve got the right idea!
hey this is just an opinion question. Which do you like better, back and biceps or v sculpt? and what is your favorite out of all of these, v sculpt, just arms, or mc2 shoulders and arms. lol sorry for the stupid question
Hey Austin, I probably like Back and Bi a little better than V-Sculpt, but it’s neck and neck. Right now I’m enjoying the variety and new moves of V-Sculpt, which give me soreness (showing that it’s working the muscles differently than the Back and Biceps), but Back and Bi just leaves me so shredded and dead that I have to give it a 10 out of 10.
I am about to create a P90X/Insanity hybrid (after doing a round of both) basically just replacing the Plyo and Kenpo with Insanity workouts. My debate is do I keep the Yoga, or replace it with another HIIT workout or something like Core Cardio and balance or Max Recovery? I am 15% body fat so there is some fat left to lose. What’s your opinion?
Hey Fitissimo, I’d replace yoga (but that’s because I hate it LOL). You’ll burn about 5x the calories doing HIIT than you will doing yoga, that’s for sure!
coach
i wanna do p90x and insanity together but how do i do pushups from insanity when on monday i do chest and back, and im kind of sore the next day, isnt it important to give chest and tris a day off? or do i go through it?
[PLUS] if i do insanity do i switch legs and back on fridays with an insanity workout since it works on legs as well?
thanks for help
Hey Jorge, you are right about the pushup moves in Insanity. I modify those by doing something else, or else I do the move but without the pushup portion of the move. Also, I’ve chosen the Insanity workouts with the least number of exercises that require modification. And I prefer to sub other workouts for Legs and Back as well, like you said. I’m actually posting a P90X/Insanity Hybrid workout later this week, so you can look at that for ideas.
Hope that helps!
I was just wondering what you mean by doing a double ab workout, do you do two ab workouts a day twice a wekk, and if so which ones?/
Hey Landyn, look under “coach w’s tips” –> “workout zone” and you’ll see the hybrids I’ve done. You will see how I did the double ab workouts on those hybrid schedules. Hope that helps!
Q: I’ve just finished round #2 of P90X classic. I’m pretty content with my results, but would like to possibly get a little more CUT. I’m going to do a Hybrid this next round w/ Insanity Deluxe, P90X and some P90X+ and 1 on 1′s. My Q: I’m trying to configure my lift days…Mon- Just Arms (1 on 1′s) Wed- Chest, shoulders, Tri’s (P90X) and Fri- EITHER Upper Body Plus (P90X+) or Total Body Workout (1 on 1′s).
Which one is the better ‘weight’ workout? I have Total Body Workout and it seems to be somewhat like Core Synergistics with no real lifting. What is Total Body Workout like?
Tyler,
congrats on finishing your 2ND round of p90x – now you want more cut – if you are adding insanity cardio days then you will truly see more cut – no question!! For your question – personally I don’t have the (1 on 1) total body workout – but I know the p90x + workout is very much like core synergistics! Honestly, from your schedule you listed – you dont have a back routine in their- to me I would rotate between legs and back & back and biceps routines ! To me those are both killer routines that target two muscles groups and blast them! The total body workouts hit the back some but nothing like those two routines do! Also another option – which I am currently about to order this workout is the 30-15 (1 on 1) upper body massacre!! Also if you want to mix it up – your core needs variety too – add abs core plus on your wednesday routine instead of ab ripper x – Hope this was helpful!
Coach Paul
“DO WORK”
Coach Paul,
Thanks for answering my Q. Good ideas there. I also frequent your website as well. You guys both (Coach Wayne and yourself) have kept me motivated and pushing play. I’m looking to mix it up slightly and I’m not really wanting to do legs/back when tackling Insanity 3X’s a week. I know it can be done, but would rather leave the leg conditioning to the Insanity. Have you done any other of the P90X+ or one-on-one’s that focus on the back other than the 30-15? I like the thought of doing the 30-15, but wonder if there is another one to look into as well. I’ve got 2 blocks of 5 weeks (4 on, 1 off) that I’m tackling. The 10 weeks will lead me up to my wedding/honeymoon in September. I’ve got the deluxe Insanity, so I’m mixing in cardio abs, insane abs and abx. I’d love to share my hybrid with you and get your feedback if you’re open to checking it out. I’ve got it on an excel sheet and can E-mail it to you if you’d have the time to look at it.
Thanks!
Coach Paul,
Still interested to see if you’d recommend any thing else other than 30-15, but while looking at reviews and list of workouts for 30-15..I ask…I have a door mounted pull-up bar. Will I be able to do all the pull-ups with that set up in the 30-15?
Thanks in advance!
Tyler,
yes you should be able to 90% of the pullups with a door mounted bar – I think the levers are the only one you might have an issue with – also i dont have any other (1 on 1′s) so i cant give you a great option. sorry dont want to tell you about a workout I have not done myself – Just seems wrong to me !
Coach Paul
“DO WORK”
Thank you! I’m going to order the 30-15.
Hi Coach Wayne, when i saw this published, i get a little bit worried, because if i only do the p90x program im not going to have a great result, right, its better to have the insanity to, or what is your opinion about this, what should i do. A few months ago i started with the p90x, but i stopped in phase 2, and i can notice that i dont have a great results, why is that?
Hey Emilio, you can get GREAT results with P90X. I used P90X during my first round and got great results. I wouldn’t recommend doing a hybrid until you’ve successfully completed a full round of P90X Classic first. I suspect that the reason you didn’t have great results are these =
1) you quit!!
2) you probably weren’t sticking to the nutrition 100%.
Am I right?? :-)
You are correct. I never stick to the nutrition plan of P90X, do i have to do the nutritio plan that told you what do we have to eat, i mean, the one that saids, that i have to eat the mushroom omellete, and the salmon, and the protein bar, that one. Another thing i saw in the nutrition zone, the suplemments that you recommend, i buy the protein carnivor, what do you think about that, if i used that protein with the nutritio plan do you think that would be enough. Thanks for your time
Hey Emilio, start off by reading my articles “Round 1 diet”, and “The P90X Nutrition Guide”. That will give you the basics to get started.
it help me a lot, thanks, the last question that i have haha, sorry for all the questions, is that you recommend creatine and glutamine, that products doesnt count with the diet right, the one that you have in the article “my 1900 calorie diet”, or you didnt use this products in that time. Do you recommend another product instead the shakeology, thanks for your time.
Hey Emilio, creatine and glutamine have zero calories, so they don’t factor into the diet. There isn’t a replacement for shakeology (there is no other product made like it). Read more about that in my article “why shakeology”. Hope that helps!
Hey Coach! I came up with a hybrid and wanted you approval!
Block 1 weeks 1-3
Monday-chest and back
Tuesday-insanity
Wednesday-shoulders and arms
Thursday-insanity
Friday-just arms
Saturday-plyo x
Block 2 weeks 5-7
Monday-back and biceps
Tuesday-insanity
Wednesday-chest shoulders tris
Thursday-insanity
Friday-shoulders and arms mc2 from the 1 on 1′s
Saturday-plyo x
Block 3 weeks 9 and 11
Monday-chest and back
Tuesday-insanity
Wednesday-shoulders and arms
Thursday-insanity
Friday-just arms
Saturday-plyo x
Weeks 10 and 12
Monday-back and biceps
Tuesday-insanity
Wednesday-chest shoulders tris
Thursday-insanity
Friday-shoulders and arms mc2 from the 1 on 1′s
Saturday-plyo x
How does that look?
That looks ideal John!! Go for it!