The P90X+ Plus: Abs Core Plus workout with Tony Horton, Mark Briggs, and Traci Morrow is officially awesome. Since I like this abdominal routine a lot, I figured I’d throw a review up for all of the curious P90X fiends that want something more and an alternative to Ab Ripper X. Since this is not a full workout itself, you are supposed to do a full length routine like Interval X Plus, Total Body Plus, or Upper Body Plus before you get around to blasting your abdominals with the extra burn.
Think of this as being the “Ab Ripper X” of the P90X Plus series – it is a supplemental mini workout that you are supposed to do after your main workouts to target the abs and core. Instead of doing any of the P90X+ workouts today though, I did an intense Crossfit Chelsea workout– and extended it to 35 minutes instead of the standard 30 minute benchmark. In case you don’t know what the Chelsea entails, it’s 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 squats on the minute, every minute, for 30 minutes; long story short, it’s a beast. Anyways, when I finished the Chelsea, I did Abs Core Plus to make my total workout time about 55 minutes.
P90X+ Plus: Abs Core Plus Review
Tony starts out the beginning of the video sitting in his chair saying: “We have taken the mold and broke it wide open.” Then he continues with the major hype: “This thing is a monster, it’s 20 minutes long. Man hang on tight cuz this baby’s comin and you’re gonna look so ripped and so good – you don’t know what happened to ya. People are gonna come by and they’re gonna start washing their clothes on your ripped stomach.” – ROFLMAO!!! (That literally made me laugh out loud). I love when Tony hypes these up just because it makes me laugh and always puts me in a good mood.
Engage the cage...
The great thing about Abs Core Plus is that you can add it onto the end of any full length routine that you want for an additional abdominal burn. You don’t necessarily have to do a P90X+ Plus routine before doing Abs Core Plus – you can use it to get a nice supplemental 20 minute abdominal workout after any of your favorite workouts. As I already mentioned, I did a Crossfit routine and then this DVD for 20 minutes of core work when I was done. If you are getting bored with Ab Ripper X – you can always do this instead.
What equipment do you need for Abs Core Plus? Unlike most of Tony Horton’s abdominal routines, for this you will need to have a yoga mat, light dumbbells (I use Bowflex Selecttech), and a pull up bar. What’s highly impressive with this routine is the overall creativity in its design and the selection of exercises. This is a core workout that is unlike anything you will have ever seen before or experienced. You go from hanging on the pull up bar, to the yoga mat, to using weights. I happen to think that it’s one of the most fun routines I have ever done. Additionally, the music by Jason Scheff in Abs Core Plus is definitely the best out of the entire P90X+ series.
P90X+: Abs Core Plus Workout Exercises
Hanging Toe Tap Knee Raises
While hanging with fully extended arms from your pull up bar, you raise your knees so that they come up to your stomach. Once you have brought your knees up to your stomach (above your waist), you slowly swing them back down and kick your toes to the back behind your body. During this exercise, you want to really engage your core and focus on control as opposed to speed because if you go too fast, you’re not going to get any burn in your abs. If you do the move properly, you will feel your entire stomach working and flexing.
My abs after ACP under good lighting while flexing...haha
Tip Toe O Crunch
This is another pretty cool exercise that initially looks like it won’t really do much to engage the abs. If you do the move properly, you will feel your abs working. Anyways, to do the Tip Toe O Crunch, you stand up on your tip toes, extend your arms straight up in the air above your head, lean to the right side, and while leaning, bring your right elbow and right knee together near your waist for a “crunch.” You target the right side for 30 seconds, and then switch and lean to the left and do as many crunches on that side as you can for 30 more seconds. The whole key here is to balance on your tip toes and lean far enough to the side so that you feel your core working.
Scorpion Plank with Twist
The Scorpion Plank with Twists engages the core a lot more than you may initially think. In order to do this particular exercise, you start out in plank position with hands directly under your shoulders. You then lift one leg off of the ground and twist so that it hovers over the other leg that is still on the ground. You want to really engage your abs here as you twist your waist and torso with your leg. After you have twisted one leg over the other in one direction, you switch legs – alternating legs with each rep. Make sure you keep your stomach flexed, your butt low, and your back as flat as possible the entire time. I thought that this move was awesome because when I finished it, I felt a noticeable burn in my core.
Spread Leg Banana Cannonball
After being in plank position on the previous move, you now get to sit down on your yoga mat. Once you are seated, to do the Spread Leg Banana Cannonball, you fully extend your legs and arms so that you are nearly flat. The only catch is that you need to keep your back, arms, and legs off the floor the entire time. The only part of your body that should be touching the ground is your butt – everything else should be up. After you have gone back for the full extension with wide legs and arms, you basically do a sit up while bending your knees in and wrapping your arms around your shins like you would for a “cannonball” (i.e. big splash in the pool). After you are in the cannonball position, you extend back out and repeat the entire sequence. I absolutely loved this particular move because it is different from a traditional sit up and did a nice job at working my abs.
Hanging Up And Overs
This is a move that certainly could have had a way cooler name, but at least the name is so literal that it is easy to understand what is done. For the Hanging Up and Overs, you hang from your pull up bar with arms fully extended, bring your knees together, and twist your torso so that your knees are positioned to the right or left of your body. After your knees are on one side of your body (let’s say the right side), you lift them “up” and while they are up, you bring them straight across your body to the left side. From the left side, you lift your knees up to waist height, and bring them back over to the right side – you repeat the process for the full amount of time. Although these are going to be tough to do with a doorframe, they are certainly do-able. I have a door frame and was able to manage just fine – the whole key is control. Make sure you are moving at a controlled pace and really engaging your abs instead of just swinging or twisting back and forth. Also, keep your feet off the floor the entire time – you’ll get a better burn.
Discus Thrower
For the Discus Thrower, you will need some dumbbells – make them light. Tony uses 7.5 lbs. per side and I ended up using 5 lbs. per side. If you use anything more than 10 pounds, you might have a tough time keeping this up for a full minute. Anyways, this is a very similar exercise to some included in the Total Body Plus routine, but it’s slightly different and has a different name. To do the Discus Thrower, you hold 2 dumbbells with wide elbows like you are boxing out in basketball. Keeping your elbows locked, you bend down to one foot like you would for the move Loading Dock, and then you do an isometric hold. After your little hold, you twist so that your arms and weights move above the opposite shoulder – you do another isometric hold at the top. The purpose of the isometric hold at the top and bottom is to kill all momentum. You should feel your stomach muscles (abs and core) working hard here. If for some reason you don’t, you need to check your form and/or try a heavier weight. I thought that this was another gem that really engaged my core.
Warrior Bow
Not only is Warrior Bow one of my favorite abdominal exercises in Abs Core Plus, but the music right at the beginning of this move is serious and made me feel like I was going into battle (with my abs)…haha. To do the Warrior Bow, you get down on your knees, and put both hands on the floor in front of your shoulders. You then lift one hand off the ground and extend your arm straight out as you would if you were reaching forward. At the same time, you extend your opposite leg straight out to the back so that only one knee and one hand are still on the ground. After both your arm and leg have been fully extended, you pull inwards and touch your knee to your forehead and elbow to your thigh. You should definitely feel your abs engaged and working here. After 30 seconds of one side, you switch to the opposite leg and opposite arm to work both sides of your body. The move is pretty simple, but it really works your abs if you are doing it properly.
Scissor Climber
The Scissor Climber is a variation of the Fifer Scissors and Leg Climbers from Ab Ripper X. It is a lot easier than Fifer Scissors, but tougher than Leg Climbers. To do this exercise, you sit down on your butt with your legs in scissor position (one up in the air / the other a few inches off of the ground). You then climb the leg that is up in the air to the top, and you do a scissor while you are sitting upright and climb the other leg that scissors to the top. You then go back down until your shoulders hit the floor, and repeat the same sequence until the time runs out.
Hanging Knee Kick
These are actually pretty damn tough – probably one of the harder exercises in the entire Abs Core Plus routine. You go over to your pull up bar (with normal grip) and let your arms hang fully extended down. Bring your legs together and then lift them up to your waist. After you have them lifted up to your waist, you do a leg extension so that you are in position for “L Pull Ups.” While you are holding the “L” position, you do a little isometric hold before dropping your shins back down. At this point, your knees should still be above your waist for a second or two. Finally you lower your legs back down to starting position and repeat this entire sequence. The toughest part of these for me was to hold my legs straight out in the “L” position, but I still managed. I think part of the reason was because I did 175 pull ups before this abs routine and was a little tired.
Wood Chopper
This is definitely a fairly badass name – the Wood Chopper. Anyways, for this move you need to take out a single dumbbell (I’d go for pretty heavy if you want to really feel the burn). I ended up using a 40 lb. dumbbell and it worked out perfectly for me. If you really want to feel the burn in your mid-section and core, make sure you aren’t using a petty light dumbbell that’s lighter than a baseball; actually get some weight. This move is pretty much identical to the Loading Dock – you pick up weight from the bottom on one side and lift it diagonally to the other above your head. The only difference between the Wood Chopper and Loading Dock (besides the name) is that for the Wood Chopper, you bring the weight behind your foot at the bottom and behind your shoulder at the top (adding more of a twist). Tony jokes about the fact that it’s basically a “squat reach with a twist” and says he should have called it the “Squat Reach Twist” which had me laughing because I think that’s already a name for the same move in a different workout…haha.
Down Dog Crunch
This is one of Tony Horton’s favorites in this particular workout. The music during this move is pretty damn cool too. To do this move, you go into downward dog, then bend from downward dog to plank, go back to downward dog, lift one of your legs straight up and while keeping it in the air, swing it forward so that your knee comes to your forehead. Then put your foot back down, go into downward dog, and repeat the entire sequence. Alternate the legs that get lifted and swing through to your forehead with each rep. Think of this exercise as basically doing alternating single leg crunches while in the downward dog position.
Banana Mason
The Banana Mason is a move that is also known as the Banana Twist. The reason that it’s called the Banana Mason is because it is named after Mason Bendewald (the guy that records and directs all of these workouts). In order to properly perform the Banana Mason, you lie down on your yoga mat, lift your arms off the ground and keep your feet off the ground so that you look somewhat like a banana. Then you come up from “Banana” position to the “Mason” and do the “Mason Twist” (the final move of Ab Ripper X) for 4 reps. After doing the “Mason Twist” for 4 reps, you go back down into “Banana” and repeat the same sequence for 30 seconds.
Mixed Bike
For the Mixed Bike, you are back on the pull up bar and it gets pretty tough. This is another one of the tougher exercises if you did pull ups and/or a legs workout before this abs routine. To do the Mixed Bike, you hang onto the pull up bar with arms extended, and you start pedaling like you would if you were riding a bike. For the first 10 seconds, you bring your knees up above your waist with each pedal. For the next 10 seconds, you pedal straight out like you are doing alternating “L Pull Up” position pedals. For the final 10 seconds, you keep your legs extending straight out like you are doing “L Pull Ups” but you pedal in reverse – these can get wicked.
X Crunch
For the X Crunch, you stand up on one foot (lift the other slightly off the ground) and lean slightly to the side of the foot that is anchored to the ground. Your arms are extended straight out at an angle so that your body looks like a leaning “X.” You then bring the knee of the leg that is off the ground up to your waist and meet the elbow of the opposite arm halfway. You then release and extend both back out, but make sure that your foot doesn’t touch the ground the entire time. When you have finished 30 seconds on one side, you balance on the other foot, lean slightly to the other direction and repeat with the opposite leg for 30 seconds.
Plange Sphinx To Plank
To start this move, you get into Plange position which is basically the same thing as Plank except both of your forearms are fully touching the ground. This exact same move is one that Shaun T uses in some of his Insanity and The Asylum routines, but it has a less complicated name. Anyways starting out in Plange position, you push one arm up so that only your hand is on the ground, and then do the same thing with the other arm. If you do that properly, you will then be in Plank position. You then drop down one arm at a time back to Plange and repeat the sequence – transitioning one arm at a time from Plange to Plank. Tony’s tip for this one is to keep your back up higher than your butt.
Weighted Seated Back Stroke
For this move you sit down on your yoga mat and grab light dumbbells – Mark uses 7.5 lbs. and Traci uses 2.5 lbs. per hand. I split the difference and settled on 5 lbs. and it worked out just fine. To do the Weighted Seated Back Stroke, you keep both feet lifted off the ground, and do backstrokes one arm at a time while holding the weights. While you are doing the backstrokes on each side, physically turn your head and watch your arm complete the strokes. If your weight seems too light, you should probably try increasing it by 2.5 lbs. next time just to see if it makes the move more difficult – don’t go overboard though.
Hanging Pelvic Tilt
Go back to your pull up bar, hang with extended arms with normal pull up grip. You bend your knees and round your back like you are doing the Plange. You want to round out your back, tilt up your pelvic bone, while lifting your knees slightly. For each of the Hanging Pelvic Tilts, you want to make sure you do a 3 second isometric hold while tilting your pelvis forward so that you actually feel the burn. If you want to see how to do this move properly, watch both Mark and Traci – Tony breaks it down and shows you exactly how they are doing it correctly.
Straight Leg X Crunch
These are basically just like the “X Crunch” that you did a few moves back in this routine. To do these, you balance on one foot, lean to that side, keep both arms extended in the air so that your body looks like an “X.” Your other foot should be slightly off the ground. You lift the foot that is off the ground to meet the hand of the opposite arm halfway (at about waist height) – keep your both your arm and leg fully straight and extended the entire time. After 30 seconds are up, you balance on your other leg, and do more Straight Leg X Crunches for 30 seconds on the opposite side.
360 Chaturanga
To do the 360 Chaturanga, you get down in Chaturanga position and you rotate your body a full 360 degrees in one direction by walking your feet and spinning your hands. After you have finished rotating 360 degrees in one direction, you rotate 360 degrees back in the opposite direction. This is a pretty quick move, but it can be tough when you are tired from all of the other moves (or like me if you really destroyed your arms before this routine). Anyways, I’m always a fan of the Chaturanga position – doing the rotations were cool.
Cherry Bomb
This is the final move of the Abs Core Plus workout, and it is a great way to finish. Plus the instrumental for this last move is perfect. Although it’s not insanely tough, it does a nice job of working your abs and is a LOT of fun (mostly because Tony joins in). Anyways to do the Cherry Bomb, you start out in Banana position with your arms and legs off of the ground (fully extended). You then roll over onto your right side (maintaining Banana position), roll back to center, do a sit up with your feet and hands in the air. While you are at the top of your sit up, you do the “Cherry Bomb” which involves quickly spreading your arms and feet into a wide position like you are an exploding bomb. Next you go back into Banana, roll onto your left side, and repeat the sequence. You continue this sequence (alternating your Banana rolls right and left) every time.
P90X+ Plus: Abs Core Plus Review (Conclusion)
First of all, I want to thank the unknown friend of Tony named Isabel who helped him come up with these moves. It was great to get a nice variety of abdominal and core exercises packed into a 20 minute workout. I absolutely loved how they were able to incorporate the dumbbells, pull up bar, and an entirely new set of exercises compared to what was presented in P90X. Although this may not be the hardest abdominal workout I’ve ever done, it probably was the most fun. When you can combine both “fun” and “hard work” into one routine, it increases the likelihood that people will want to do it again. I know that I will end up doing this routine again because it was seriously rocking. Plus Jason Scheff went absolutely H.A.M. with the instrumentals here as I already mentioned.
How does it compare to Ab Ripper X?
Probably the number one question I’m going to get after people read this review is: How does it compare to Ab Ripper X? Compared to Ab Ripper X, I would say that despite being slightly longer, it is easier than Ab Ripper X. Having done Ab Ripper X many times, I can say that for some of those moves, I literally have to dig deep and fight so that I can finish them properly. Here I certainly had to fight at times, but it wasn’t as intense of a battle. For all of the abdominal fiends that want something tougher than Ab Ripper X – I recommend doing Killer Abs. Here’s how I’d rank the abdominal workouts that I’ve done.
- Killer Abs
- Ab Ripper X
- Insane Abs
Why is Abs Core Plus is awesome? Creativity.
I seriously think that Abs Core Plus is one of the most creative abdominal workouts I have ever done. I honestly can say that I had more fun doing this than I ever have doing Ab Ripper X. Maybe it was exciting because it was something different too, I don’t know. What I do know is that it also still delivered a burn to my abdominal area from start to finish and I was happy with the way that I felt afterwards. If you are looking for a good Ab Ripper X alternative, this is exactly what you need to get in your stash. It is a smidgen easier, has more variety, and in my opinion, is more fun.
What’s the secret to getting ripped abs?
Most people don’t realize that the secret to getting a ripped core and good abs isn’t necessarily doing abdominal routines like this every day. The real secret is hard work: first shed the fat on your gut by doing a variety of exercises. Sit ups, crunches, and abdominal work will only get you so far – you need a variety exercises like cardio, squats, push ups, pull ups, dips, curls, bench press, and more if you want to get ripped abs. Eating the right foods also helps. So many people want to look good and have a 6 pack overnight – that’s not going to happen. It will happen if you focus on building muscle, strength, and get your ass moving to shed the excess baggage on your gut first.