One of my favorite parts of using Beachbody programs is the wide variety of workouts that are available to us. Not only do we have amazing programs that are pre-designed for us, but we can mix it up in many ways. As you know, I love doing hybrids with lift days from P90X and the Tony Horton 1-on-1 series, and cardio days from Insanity and Asylum.
Interchanging cardio days is fairly easy. You can substitute most of the Insanity or Asylum cardio workouts for any of the other cardio workouts based on your fitness level and what you prefer. So I won’t go into detail there.
But since I’ve done most of the 1-on-1’s, I thought it would be a handy reference for you guys for me to list the lift workouts you are familiar with from P90X, and the substitution options you have if you are looking to add variety to your routine:
Chest and Back (P90X) = This great workout has a couple very good substitutions you can use — Chest Back and Balls (1-on-1, Volume 3), and 30-15 Upper Body Massacre (1-on-1, Volume 2).
Chest Back and Balls is extremely challenging (Tony says it’s the toughest workout he’s done). It does require some equipment though (4 medicine balls and a stability ball). Also, with Chest Back and Balls there are several pullup moves you will have to modify if you use a door mount pullup bar (he has a ceiling mount straight bar that allows him to do some things we can’t do on a door mount).
30-15 is all pushups and pullups and it keeps going and going and going until you are dead … and then it goes some more! This is a killer!
Shoulders and Arms (P90X) = The New Shoulders and Arms (1-on-1, Volume 3) obviously makes a great choice here. No additional equipment is needed for this one … just lots of stamina to go through the multiple sets of big heavy lifts followed by “fine-tuning” lifts where Tony can make your arms burn with very light weights by forcing you to use muscles you aren’t used to using! I like this one a lot!
Back and Biceps (P90X) = The ideal substitution for Back and Biceps is V-Sculpt (1-on-1, Volume 3). It has multiple pullup exercises and bicep exercises, but uses a lot of fun variety. You need resistance bands for V-Sculpt though. Many of the moves cannot be done with free weights. I really like the variety of this workout since I don’t use resistance bands in my normal lift days.
Chest Shoulders and Triceps = The new radical version of this classic is UBX (1-on-1, Volume 3). This one requires medicine balls and a stability ball, and it’s a tough one! Just like the original C/S/T, UBX will totally burn out your chest and triceps. But by using balls for stability, along with new moves you aren’t used to, it really challenges you on many levels.
And if you want to substitute for even more of your P90X workouts, there is Plyocide (1-on-1, Volume 3) which you can switch out for PlyoX, Core Synergistics: MC2 (1-on-1, Volume 3) which subs for the original Core Synergistics, and Yoga: MC2 which substitutes for Yoga.
So as you can see, just with the above 1-on-1’s, you can revamp your whole P90X routine to add new challenges and moves to your program. And I didn’t even touch on some of the totally unique workouts that are unlike a specific P90X workout, which there are several of.
Bottom line — don’t get bored! There is no excuse to get bored! You’ve got more workout options than you have days to do them! Keep it fresh. Add variety. It makes you better and forces your body to continue adapting and changing. And with change, comes results!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
