P90X Plyometrics Workout Review (Plyo X Jump Training)

I hadn’t done the P90X Plyometrics workout a.k.a. Plyo X or “Jump Training” with Tony Horton and company for a long time (over a year) so I forced myself to use it for my cardio routine today after all of the football games. On Sunday I always like to do a workout after the 3:15 P.M. NFL game and the night game. I pretty much am a zombie glued to the TV all day Sunday watching nothing but football. Once again my homie Tim Tebow comes through with another victory and the analysts continue to take fully polarized sides either for or against him. Whether he keeps getting wins or not, I’m a fan. Anyways, my favorite team the Green Bay Packers had a close game today, but AR-12 with banana clips sniped up the Giants for a nice game winning drive.

Get your little bucket nearby...

Anyways after getting my lazy on watching the NFL, I got my gear on and amped up a little bit for Plyometrics. Before I started the routine, I made sure that I had a towel for the breaks, sweatbands on, and some recovery formula mixed up for when I finished. Then I popped in the DVD, pushed play, and got down to business with this “jump training.” It turned out to be the perfect workout for me on this Sunday night because I hadn’t done much cardio this past week and I felt like my brain needed it more than anything just to de-stress a little bit and tire me out. Yesterday I did the Crossfit Barbara WOD with a weight vest (I used 30 lbs. instead of 25 like last time and I almost puked).

Fortunately for Plyometrics today, I thought that the routine was actually pretty easy for me. It’s not an easy routine, and I usually am really tired by the time it ends, but today was just one of those days that I was feeling really good the entire time. When the workout ended, I felt like I literally got the perfect amount of cardio for the day. Although this routine is always pretty intense, what I liked most about it today was the fact that I felt completely refreshed and completely chill for the rest of the night.

P90X Plyometrics Review

Plyometrics a.k.a. “Jump Training” is the routine that Tony Horton calls “the mother of all P90X workouts.” If you look at all of the research surrounding plyometric training regimens, you will discover that people who do plyometrics are able to improve their overall fitness level greater than people who stick to standard (boring) cardio exercise like running on a treadmill. Although I enjoy a good run, this routine works your entire body more than going for a run ever would. With Plyometrics, you can expect to improve your jumping ability, speed, balance, power, and cardiovascular endurance if you play sports.

The P90X crew for Plyometrics consists of Erik Stolhanske (the guy with one leg), Pam the Blam, Dominic (Dom), and Tony Horton. What you may not know is that Erik is actually an actor from the movie Super Troopers (which is hilarious). On a semi-related note, word is that there is going to be a Super Troopers 2 (which will be staged as a prequel to the original), could be cool and may feature Erik…haha. Anyways, this crew is probably one of my favorites because they work hard and all seem like cool peeps.

This is clearly the toughest cardio routine in the P90X series. It is divided into 5 rounds with short 30 second breaks in between each round. Each round has a total of 4 exercises which are done for 2 sets back-to-back. Once you finish the four rounds, there is one bonus round with some random fun sports exercises (baseball, basketball, and football) that Tony included for those that want a little bit extra. I would recommend doing the bonus because it keeps up the burn and is fun. The bottom line is that by the time this routine is over, you should be soaked in sweat and should be physically exhausted – it is meant to tire you out.

P90X Plyometrics Workout Routine

Tip of the day: “Think like a cat.” (Land softly, leap off your toe, and land on your toe).

Warm Up

March in Place – You start out by marching in place with high knees while listening to Tony talk about how plyometrics will improve your athletic performance. You then continue marching in place but mix it up so that your knees flare out wide just for a little variety.
Run in Place – After your little march in place, you start running in place to get your heart rate up. What’s hilarious is that Tony says, “We tried to hire some hot shots for this, couldn’t do it! People from class could.” He also says, “Just like your mom used to say ‘Don’t eat a bunch of food before you go swimming’ – same thing here, don’t be eating at least an hour before you do plyo.” His jokes in the warm up always make me laugh.
Tires – You do some tires which involve jumping lightly from side to side landing on one foot at a time. This is just to get your body used to temporarily leaving the ground.
Lunges – You mix in some lunges after doing some tires which involve jumping so that when your right foot comes forward, your left goes back and vice versa. Just a little bit more low intensity jumping action to get your body warm.
Walking Lunges – Now you go into deep lunges while walking, which are different from the jump lunges that you were just doing. You take a step, bend down in the lunge position so that your leg gets really low, and then you pop up and step with the other leg. Your legs should start to feel warmed up here. I always laugh when Tony says, “If you have a tough time in the lunge sequence – you’re gonna run outta gas!” Then he goes on about the Cardio X option (which is hilarious to me).
Deep Prayer Squats – You have your knees flared out and feet slightly wider than shoulder width. You go down into deep squats, and as you drop down, your hands come together in center like you would if you were saying a prayer. As you go back up, your arms extend straight out overhead and your legs straighten out. You repeat this until you’ve done a total of 30 reps. It is during these that he drops the classic line: “Don’t run off and get a pastrami sandwich or something that would be bad. Cheeseburger bad, fries bad, shakes bad, Coca Cola oops I said it! Drink your water people.”
Quad Stretch – For this you have the option of using a stool if you want for balance. You keep your head up, chest straight, and pelvis forward while grabbing one ankle and pulling it into your butt for a good quad stretch. Then you switch sides and do the same thing so that you stretch out both legs. It is here that Tony also says you don’t need a stool whatever, you can use a “couch, chair, sister, brother, uncle – that’s a short uncle”…haha.
Split Leg Hamstring Stretch – This is the split leg hamstring stretch which involves stepping one leg back, and flaring the toes of the back foot slightly out to the side. You then lean forward with a straight front leg, and stretch out your hamstring. Make sure you square up your hips though and use good form while driving your hip towards your ankle. Switch sides after you have stretched one side so that both are ready for the workout.

P90X Plyometrics Workout Exercises

The workout is divided up into 5 rounds of 4 exercises each, plus a bonus round as I already mentioned. With the exception of the very first set in the first round, all of the exercises are done at high intensity, and high speed. If you want to really challenge yourself, I recommend literally going balls-to-the-walls from the very first exercise. The warm up was plenty long, so you don’t really need to be watching him explain how to do the exercises or going at that slow pace if you want to challenge yourself. Anyways, I’m breaking this down round by round below. Just keep in mind that during each round, you will complete 2 sets through each of the 4 exercises before moving onto the next round.

Round #1: Jump Squats, Run Stance Squats, Swing Kicks

Jump Squats

To do Jump Squats, you drop down into a deep squat position with feet shoulder width apart. Always remember when you are at the bottom of your squat, your knees should be behind your toes and your butt should be both back and low. Your elbows should be bent and hands out in front of your chest. While you are down low, you use power from your legs to “jump” up off of the ground. As you are going up for the jump, your arms straighten out by your sides as you get airborne. Then you land softly (hopefully thinking like a cat) and go back down into a squat to repeat that entire sequence. The first round actually starts off at a slow pace because Tony is still apparently warming up. I would actually recommend going all out for maximum height and speed if you want more of a burn. If you think that this routine is already too tough, then just follow the speed of the crew.

I'm not a star, somebody lied...

Run Stance Squats

The next move in Plyo X is Run Stance Squats which are pretty easy to figure out. To do these, you start out in runners stance like you are about to race someone in a sprint. Your body should be sideways in regards to the crew. Your back heel should be lined up with your front toe during this entire exercise. Anyways while you are in this sideways position with your toe lined up with your heel, you do 4 low squats per side and then do a 180 degree jump spin so that your toe that was originally in back is now out front. During this entire move, you want to keep your head and chest up, while letting your legs do the work going down for the squats. Each time you go down, your elbows bend and your hands come up to your chest. If you think that the crew is moving too slow during the first round, you can certainly pick it up and go at a faster speed.

Airborne Heisman

You should already know how to do the Heisman, but in case you don’t, let me ‘splain. To do the Airborne Heisman, you balance on one leg while bringing the knee of the opposite leg up to your waist. At the same time, you extend the arm on the same side of the body as your raised knee like you are stiff arming someone. After a short isometric hold for the balance on one side, you hop to the other leg and do the same thing (raising the opposite knee and arm). These are actually pretty simple, but the whole key here is to really get your knee up and to maintain good balance throughout. If you can’t maintain good balance, you may want to call your short uncle back in or something…haha. I should also mention that if you are going to do Insanity, prepare for a (lot more) intense version during the warm ups!

Swing Kicks

I absolutely love Swing Kicks because they really engage my core and get my heart rate up. To do these, you need to pull up a chair or stool and position it just in front of your body. You then kick one leg over the chair, followed by the other leg. As soon as your legs both clear the chair in one direction, you kick them back the other way. If you want, you can go for speed here. I made sure that I went for speed and engaged my abs because that’s where your power should come from. You want to keep your body centered, arms tucked, and be able to maintain balance the entire time. If you want to really challenge yourself, try to keep up with Erik (yeah the guy with one leg picks it up early, why? Cause he’s a bad man!). I use a chair that’s higher than my waist, but that’s just because I want a challenge. If you pick a higher stool or chair, just make sure you don’t accidentally kick it or hit your leg on it (because it will hurt, I’ve done it before…haha).

Water Break – After cycling through these moves twice each, you get your first water break. I recommend a little sip of the agua, a little towel action, and jogging in place.

Round #2: Squat Reach Jumps, Run Stance Squat Switch Pick Ups, Double Airborne Heisman, Circle Run

Squat Reach Jumps

This is just like the Jump Squats that you just did, except you reach down and touch the ground with your fingertips at the bottom of your jumps, and try to touch the ceiling with your fingertips at the top of your jumps. If you have a low ceiling, hopefully you are smart and don’t concuss your head, snap a limb or something…haha. Anyways, to properly execute the Squat Reach Jumps, you simply go back into a low squat with fingertips touching the floor near your toes (butt down and back, knees behind toes, etc.) and then jump up as high as possible while reaching for the sky. When you land from your jump, keep it cool like a cat and land softly, and instantly drop down into another squat. I really like this exercise a lot because it always gets me working hard and really engages my leg muscles. I recommend going as hard as possible for both rounds of these if you can handle it (hopefully your heart doesn’t explode).

Run Stance Squat Switch Pick Ups

This is nearly identical to the Run Stance Squats that you did during the first round. However, instead of doing 4 squats and a 180 degree spin on the fourth rep, you do a 180 degree spin on every repetition. Additionally, you are supposed to touch the ground with the fingers of your front hand on every single rep. Once again, you start out in runners stance with your front toe aligned with your back heel, and you place the fingers of your front hand on the ground while in a low squat. Next you jump up, do a 180 spin, and drop down into the same squat on the other side with the fingers of the opposite hand touching the ground in front of the front toe. The whole key with these is to make sure you are keeping your head and chest up the entire time. Even when you drop down into the squat, all of the lowering should come from your legs only – you shouldn’t be hunching or rounding your back. If you are feeling good here you can go at a quicker pace and get extra airborne while doing the 180 degree spins.

Double Airborne Heisman

These are basically the same thing as the regular Airborne Heisman except you have to hop over a couple of lateral tires in the middle. So basically you do the Heisman on one side, do 2 tires (get high knees while doing side laterals) in the middle, and do the Heisman on the other side. The reason it’s called the “Double” Airborne Heisman is because you have a couple of tires thrown in – so your knees come up 4 times before you make it to the other side. I always have a pretty easy time with these, so in order to make it more challenging I focus on balance and really getting my knee up and into my body. I personally find that pulling my knee in with my hand during the brief isometric holds can make these tougher too.

Circle Run

For the Circle Run, you throw a crumpled up towel on the floor with a small radius and run clockwise around the towel in a circle. The thing about this run is that your entire body faces forwards the entire time you are moving in a circle. So you face the front the entire time and work your hips and feet so that you are moving around the circle while facing forward. You keep up running clockwise for 30 seconds, and then flip the script and run for the next 30 seconds counterclockwise. At one point Tony says something along the lines of “Wiggle the hips, wiggle the hips, woo big sexy with it”…haha more classic Plyo X hilarity. This might seem easy if you are going at a slow pace, but if you push yourself, this can actually be pretty tough. You should keep your head and shoulders calm, but your feet and hips should be twerkin it.

Water Break – You get 30 seconds more to check your heart rate, shake out your muscles, towel off, and get a sip of water.

Round #3: Jump Knee Tucks, Mary Katherine Lunges, Leapfrog Squats, Twist Combo

Jump Knee Tucks

This is the “mother of all the moves” so get your tired ass ready. Personally I don’t think they go at a very fast pace during the first round, so I usually pick it up. If it’s your first time doing this workout, I recommend going at their pace and focusing primarily on soft landings (continue thinking like a cat). However, if you have done this move before and know you can handle the intensity, I recommend kicking your own ass. Today I went all out during both the first and second round of the move and ended doing over 80 reps. In the past I have done over 90 reps, but I hadn’t done this routine for awhile and didn’t want to push myself over the limit because I knew there was plenty of workout left.

During the first set I did 30 reps and during the second set I out-did Dominic with 50 reps. Believe me, I was fucking gassed after these and after out-doing Dom the second round, I was pretty winded by the time the Mary Katherine Lunges rolled around. Although you may think these are tough, you really have no idea how easy they are compared to what you will experience during Insanity and The Asylum (specifically the Vertical Plyo workout).

So how do you do the Jump Knee Tucks? To do this particular exercise, you jump so that your knees come up above your waist. Your goal is to land softly, but at the same time, you want to make sure that you get in as many reps as possible. Hold your hands above your waist and try to make sure that your knees come up to your stomach each time. If you are a crazy eff like myself and/or just want to push yourself, go at the “double time” pace immediately. Remember to focus on soft landings so that you don’t bang your joints.

Mary Katherine Lunges

After you have just finished the wicked Jump Knee Tucks a.k.a. the mother, you move onto the swagged out SNL character inspired Mary Katherine Lunges. In case you don’t know, these were named after Mary Katherine Gallagher (as played by Molly Shannon); if you look you may be able to find a clip of this nerdy chica on YouTube doing the lunges – too bad Tony didn’t call her to be part of the test group or something…(or at least just for her trademarked move)…haha. Anyways if you pushed hard through the Jump Knee Tucks, your legs should be tired here, but you need to use some mental strength and push yourself through.

Even if you are moving at a faster pace and getting in more jumps than Dominic, if you want to really push yourself, keep your arms straight up the entire time during this move. The second round of this move is one of the toughest parts of the entire routine for me because not only did I just push hard through the JKT’s, but I also try to push hard through these. To perform the Mary Katherine Lunges, you get in lunge position (one foot out front, the other extended back, with bent knees) and then you jump and while you are airborne, you switch the positioning of your feet – bringing the leg that was in back to the front, and the let that was in front to the back.

During this move, you should focus on landing softly, keeping your chest up, and really getting down low in your lunge. The lower you get in the lunge sequence, the more burn you will get out of this exercise. Also I found that engaging my core muscles really helps increase the burn. If you want to easily engage your core, do both rounds of this exercise with your arms extended straight up in the air, keep your chest straight, and head up the entire time. When you do this move, you should make sure that you are landing on the balls of your feet (i.e. your toes and not your heels).

Leapfrog Squats

For the Leapfrog Squats, you get down into squat position so that you are looking like a frog. So basically you flare your feet out to the sides with feet slightly wider than shoulder width. You proceed to bend down in the squat position (chest up, butt back) and bend your elbows so that it looks like you have little frog hands (or as Tony calls them “fancy hands”). Since you should be feeling fairly froggy at this point, you need to leap forward for two jumps while in the frog position. After 2 leapfrog jumps forward, you hop backwards for 2 more. Since your knees should be bent the entire time, you should really feel the burn. The second round of these may seem really tough if your legs aren’t in good shape, but do your best to maintain good form. If you want to challenge yourself, get as low as possible in your squats and jump as far forward as you can each time. Do as many of these as possible at maximum intensity before the 30 seconds is up! The second round of these were pretty damn tough for me today, but really not that bad when I compare these to Insanity.

Twist Combo

Although the title of this move may get you thinking about a nice soft serve ice cream cone, that would probably be something that Tony would consider “bad” since he hated on the cheeseburger, fries, shakes, and Coca Cola earlier…haha. Anyways to do the Twist Combo, you need to stand up straight, position your feet so that they are together, and balance on your toes. Once you are on your toes, you want to hop and twist your feet in three different directions. So with your first hop your toes should point to the right, then immediately hop so that they are pointing back to center, and then hop again so that they are pointing to the left, then center again, and repeat the cycle. You keep pointing your toes, left, center, right, center, so that each time you hop either to the right or the left, they come back to the center. Your upper body should be completely square and locked forward – the only thing that should be moving is your lower half. You do these three direction hop twists for the first half of the combo.

The next half of the combo just involves jumping so that you turn your whole body from facing the front, to facing the back, and then again to facing the front. So you are basically just doing 180 degree jumps here. At the end of the round Tony adds some 360 degree jumps so that you are spinning all the way around. Make sure that you don’t get too dizzy and pass out or something. I always get dizzy here, but it’s just because the 360 degree jumps for 30 seconds involves a lot of spinning, but I’m cool with it. Oh and for this second half of the twist combos, you can have your feet wide or close – it’s up to you. I usually do it with wide feet, but tried it with both today and found that close feet was actually harder with the 360 degree jumps.

Water Break – After that intense round of JKT’s, MKL’s, frogginess, and twerking dem hips like a pro dancer, you can replenish with some water. I highly recommend getting water whenever you are thirsty, there’s a reason you’re thirsty – don’t dehydrate yourself.

Round #4: Rock Star Hops, Gap Jumps, Squat Jacks, Military March

Rock Star Hops

I love doing the Rock Star Hops because you get to take out your favorite (air) guitar and rock out…haha. Although these are pretty fun, they are also pretty tough and may be a rude awakening if you were expecting the routine to lighten up after an intense third round. Anyways, to do the Rock Star Hops, you stand straight up, extend your left arm straight out, and you jump while kicking your feet to your butt (they should touch) and doing a big arm circle with your right arm (to strum your air guitar like a boss).

When you jump up though, your knees should flare out to an angle at about 45 degrees so keep this in mind too, it isn’t just a straight tuck jump. You should focus on landing softly, but make sure you are getting height with your jumps and are using good form. If you are working hard, you will be tired as fugg from these, but get your mind right and finish both rounds strong. This is the move where Tony says, “Get up there Peter Townshend, come on!” – another classic line. If you can handle going at a faster pace here, feel free to push yourself – you don’t have to rock out at the same pace as the crew.

Gap Jumps

The Gap Jumps are actually pretty easy to do, but keep your heart rate up and keep you working. I recommend putting your towel out on the ground again so that you can imagine jumping over a narrow creek or something. Anyways to do these, you just push off one leg and basically do a mini-long jump so that you don’t fall in the creek and drown…haha. When you land on the other side of your jump, you simply turn around so that you are pushing off of your other leg so that both legs get equally worked. Keep this up and try to get distance and height in your jumps if it helps make things more intense. Additionally, make sure you are doing these quickly and engaging your core if you want maximum burn.

Squat Jacks

I actually really like the Squat Jacks in the Plyometrics routine because they make you work your core as well as your legs. To do these, you first squat down just as you have been doing, and do slow, controlled jumping jacks. However instead of moving your arms up and down with each jack, you keep your arms extended straight above your head the entire time. You do have the option of keeping your arms behind your head if you think extended arms are too intense, but I recommend that you man or woman up and extend them straight up so that you get more burn in your core. You should feel this working your legs to the maximum, but the whole key with these is to stay as low as possible while doing the jacks – the higher you are, the less burn and workout. These would be a lot harder if they were before the Gap Jumps in this round, but they will still make you work hard.

Military March

This is arguably one of the easiest exercises in the entire Plyo X routine, but you have still got to work here. If you are a total noob, you probably will end up doing the move wrong and won’t really feel any burn; make sure you are not part of the next noobs gone wild DVD. So to do the Military March properly, you need to think “non impact, high intensity.” To start the exercise you lift your right arm up above your head, left arm as far back as possible (behind your body), and then you lift your left leg up with a fully extended straight leg. You should be reaching with both hands and really engaging your core here when your legs are up.

As your left leg drops down, your right arm swings back and your left arm comes straight up. You then lift your right leg up (with an extended straight leg) so that you are alternating sides. During this exercise you want to literally lock your legs and arms so that they are completely straight. This shouldn’t feel like hardcore Jump Knee Tuck type work, but you should still feel yourself working hard – especially at the top of each leg raise. I’m glad that Tony included this move because it is still an effective part of the workout if you know how to properly execute. The nice thing about this exercise on the second set is that when you finish, you get another break.

Water Break – Get some water here, maybe a little bit of recovery formula, and get ready for the final round of the workout!

Round #5: Run Squat 180 Jump Switch, Lateral Leapfrog Squats, Monster Truck Tires, Hot Foot

Run Squat 180 Jump Switch

Just like the Run Stance Squats that you did earlier, these involve the same foot positioning: the toe of your front foot should be aligned with your back heel (in a straight line). You start out so that your body is facing sideways like you are getting ready to race your friend in a sprint. While you are crouched down in squat position, you bring your fingertips to the floor so that they touch the ground in front of your front foot. Really the only difference between these and the Run Stance Squat Switch Pick Ups is that on this move, your same hand touches the ground the entire time.

So when you go down into your squat, jump, do a 180, and land on the ground, the same hand that was touching the floor in the front also touches down again in the front. These are pretty easy to get the hang of if you watch closely. The only thing to remember besides getting down low in your squat is to keep your head turning each time you jump. This should go without saying, but keep landing softly and keep your chest up the entire time as well. To get the most out of this exercise, push yourself hard and get down really low in your squats.

Lateral Leapfrog Squats

Damn another frogger-like move in store for the peeps. These are the Lateral Leapfrog Squats and should induce some more burn in your thighs and glutes if you are doing them properly. Just like you were doing for the regular Leapfrog Squats, you get down low, point your feet slightly out to the sides, and use fancy frog hands. Instead of hopping forward and backwards though, you are hopping laterally (side to side). You basically hop to the right and then the left, and repeat (back and forth) until the time expires. If you get down low in your squat for both rounds, my guess is that you will feel the burn. If you want to really challenge yourself, go for maximum distance on your hops side to side while getting as low as possible in each squat.

Monster Truck Tires

I like the name of this move – Monster Truck Tires, sounds remotely badass. Anyways to do these Monster Truck Tires, you need to use a little of your imagination and pretend that there are a series of monster truck tires on the ground in front of you (2 on the right side and 2 on the left). You need to basically bring your knee up and jump over the one on the right, then your left leg up and jump over the one on the left, then clear another one on the right, and then the last one on the left. After you have cleared the 4 tires moving forwards, you have to do the entire series in reverse (so hop over the tires going backwards). If you want, you can think of this as being like a moving alternating Heismans; 4 forward and 4 back. During the second set of these, you need to be prepared to do an extra set right as the clock expires so don’t slack off!

Hot Foot

To do the Hot Foot, you start out balancing on one foot and hop forwards, backwards, left, then right (like a cross on the ground or a plus sign). You may really feel the pressure on your calf muscles during this move, but fight through it. The difficulty of this particular move is moderate, so make sure you are maintaining good balance and are keeping your core tight so that you don’t lose control. After 30 seconds, you switch feet and hop on your other leg for 30 seconds so that you work both legs equally. This move is fairly fun if you have strong legs and can handle the pressure. If you want to intensify the exercise, try to get more distance on your jumps front back and side to side (like the UGK anthem) – it would have been awesome if they played that song during this move…haha.

Water Break – After getting your hot foot on for two rounds, you probably think you’re done with the workout. You are luckily done with all of the tough moves, so get some water and do the bonus round – it’s not too tough.

Sports Bonus Round: Pitch and Catch, Jump Shots, Football Hero

Pitch and Catch

If you have played baseball, you should know how to properly throw a pitch. If not, it’s actually pretty easy. For the Pitch and Catch move, you simply turn your body sideways with your front foot further out to the side than your back. Then you kick up the foot that is off to the side while bending your knee as you push off of an imaginary mound and throw a fastball. Make sure that you follow through with your pitch and after you have thrown the imaginary baseball, take a couple steps back, and keep it going. After you have worked one side, you become a switch pitcher and throw with your other arm while kicking your other leg up. Oh and it is during this move that we learn Tony’s dad was apparently a stud pitcher that threw many “no hitters” back in the day…haha. He also says to not make fun of his left hand throw, despite the fact that it looks hilarious.

Jump Shots

For the Jump Shots, you basically pretend that you are catching a basketball from either the left or right side, then you jump up and take the shot. Although this move may not seem too tough, you can make it more intense by getting in more reps and jumping as high as possible with each shot. For half the time (30 seconds) you catch from the left side and shoot with the right hand, and the other half (30 seconds) you catch from the right side and shoot with the left hand. You will probably be pretty gassed here, but just do your best and know that you only have one more exercise left in the routine.

Football Hero

The final move of the Plyometrics workout is Football Hero. This move is similar to the Monster Truck Tires that you did earlier in regards to the fact that you take a step left, step right, step left, and step right while moving forward. The difference between this move and the tires is that now you are going for lateral jumps (side to side). You are still landing on one foot at a time, but you are going for distance and trying to clear as much lateral distance as you can while moving slightly forward. After you have taken 1 step right, 1 step left, 1 step right, and 1 step left – you do 8 high knees backwards and repeat the entire sequence until the time runs out. Tony has you going hard all the way until the clock stops (even a little bit after) so make sure you hang in there and go hard all the way through.

Cool Down Stretch

Shake it Out – Shake out your muscles and check your heart rate if you have a heart rate monitor.
Huggers – Love yourself for making it through this workout and loosen up your body.
Jump Rope – Tony does a little bit of jump rope and tells you to get your recovery drink after this badass routine.
March and Kick – March and do some very low impact kicks just to help your legs chill out and bring down your heart rate.
Forward Bend – Inhale your arms up and exhale them down so that you are bent at the waist and hanging down low. You should feel your hamstrings getting a good stretch. You can rock side to side here a little bit if you want. I like how Tony says “oww” and then he says “in a good way and I mean that in a good way”…haha. I think he drops the same line at the beginning of Chest and Back when Ms. German Potato Soup says the same thing.
Downward Dog – Get into downward dog position and alternate bending one knee at a time so that you get a good stretch in your calves because they need it.
Cat Stretch – Get on your hands and knees, and do the infamous Cat Stretch by inhaling and exhaling while flattening your back and rounding your spine.
Quad Stretch – You do one last quadriceps stretch, so bring back your short uncle if you’re rickety like Tony because you should be fucking tired and ready for a recovery drink and some chillaxin. Oh and make sure you give Tony a digital “double double” fist pound to celebrate – “doot doot”…haha.

P90X Plyometrics Review (Conclusion)

What if Plyometrics is too easy?

There are people out there that have said that Plyometrics is “too easy.” I can see where some people that are in really good cardio shape may say that it is “too easy,” but saying that is certainly misguided. The bottom line is that you are working hard for over 45 minutes doing cardiovascular exercise and that’s all your body really needs. If you find Plyometrics too easy, you are either not using good form during the exercises and/or aren’t pushing yourself harder than the crew.

Although Tony starts the routine out fairly slow, if you know the moves, you can go all out from the very first exercise by jumping high, and doing as many reps as possible. Another example would be going at maximum speed for both rounds of Jump Knee Tucks instead of just the second round. If you think this routine is easy, it’s because you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough, end of story. With that said, I will say that it is less difficult than most of the Insanity workouts and is significantly easier than what you’ll experience in The Asylum during routines like Vertical Plyo.

What if Plyometrics is too hard?

I know there will be people out there that find Plyometrics to be too hard of a workout – it will seem like too much of a challenge. What I would recommend to these people is to either: tough it out as long as possible through this routine or find a different routine. I would actually recommend toughing it out for as long as you can because you will improve over time and will eventually be able to make it through – plus you will be familiar with the moves. Based on other routines I’ve done, I personally recommend the following as substitutes (listed in order of highest to lowest difficulty):

I know in P90X, you have the “Cardio X” option, but to be completely honest, that workout doesn’t even slightly compare to Plyometrics. I would recommend trying to do one of the other two that I have listed at the top because they will get you more prepared for Plyo X if you currently can’t handle it. I can personally say that when I did P90X for the first time 2 years ago, I thought Plyometrics was one of the toughest workouts that I had ever done. Now after doing tons of different workouts, this one isn’t as tough as it once was, but toughness and intensity don’t make a workout “good” or “bad” there are plenty of other elements. When all is said and done, I think that this entire routine is a masterpiece.

Plyometrics is the perfect cardio workout

Based on my experience with this routine today and in the past, I would characterize it as being the perfect cardio workout for me. It’s certainly not the hardest cardio routine I’ve ever done at home (i.e. it’s no Vertical Plyo), but it is one of the best I’ve ever done. The reason that I say it’s the best is because of the: exercises, structure, length, and intensity. There is a nice variety of exercises throughout this routine and the overall length of the workout is perfect – just about 60 minutes with the bonus round. Additionally, the intensity of this routine remains pretty consistent throughout if you push yourself. The bottom line is that this routine gives your body exactly what it needs. I honestly don’t ever recommend doing cardio in excess of 60 minutes because in most cases it’s just not healthy – this is the perfect length and a cardio masterpiece.