Wii Fit Fun. P90X Powerful.

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We had some friends over last night, and they brought over their Wii Fit system. We had a blast trying to knock each other out in the boxing program, but our competitive spirits really came out when we went bowling. I never imagined that I’d ever be bowling with an electronic remote!

I thought back to my thirteenth birthday. My mom presented me with a green bowling ball. She had my name engraved on it, and the holes were drilled for my fingers. I was thrilled. My mom, my two sisters and me were on a bowling league and bowled a couple of times a week. I don’t think I ever got great at it, but it reminded me yet again how my activity level changed as I got older. I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been bowling in the last five years.

I’m glad Wii Fit is getting people active. It’s nice to see family and friends playing together again. If I owned a Wii Fit system, however, I’m afraid it would gather dust next to our X-Box in the guest bedroom closet. It’s a fun gaming system, but I don’t think it’s a fitness program that I could follow for any length of time.

I need a plan that keeps me heading toward my fitness targets. I need a challenge, something that keeps me motivated and consistent. For me, it’s been the Beachbody P90X Extreme Home Fitness DvDs. 13 challenging DVDs, workouts that last from 45-92 minutes, and a trainer that pushes me are some of the reasons it works for me. I think it’s also the three phase nutrition system and three phase muscle confusion workout plan that brings results.

The P90X Extreme Home Fitness Nutrition Plan booklet has the following subtitle: Eating For Power Performance. You really don’t understand that sentence until you see how many calories you actually have to eat for performance results. Every other plan I’ve tried has cut calories. I’ve never tried something that was hard for me to follow because I had to eat so much!

The nutrion plan booklet is 113 pages in length. It includes the option of portion control or the meal plan approach depending upon whether you want to follow a laid out menu or design your own menu using portion counts of protein, carbs, veggies, fruits, fats, dairy, condiments, and snacks.

The P90X Extreme Home Fitness Fitness Guide (subtitled Extreme Training System), is 100 pages in length. Not only does it lay out what DVD to do each day, it also spells out each exercise and how to do each one. This allows you to take the guide to the gym or on a trip with you when you want to do you Beachbody workout but won’t have access to a DVD player.

One other thing I thought was amazing about the workout guide is you can choose one of three carefully designed 90 day routines within the P90X system. The “Classic P90X” is a basic boot camp that is pretty well evenly dividing between cardio and strength training. Although the authors call this the starting point, you’d better pass the fit test before you take on P90X. Depending on your fitness level, you may want to start with another program such as Power90.

The second routine that’s available if you’re absolutely crazy or at a fitness level that demands even more than the classic is “P90X Doubles.” This routine is the same as the classic for the first thirty days. Days 31-60 add three more cardios per week in addition to the normal workouts. Days 61-90 up the additional cardios from three to four. I tried this routine and had to back down. It was just too much for me at my current fitness level to do 45 minutes of cardio in the morning and a 55 minute strength training workout in the evening.

The third and final routine is called “P90X Lean.” This workout is designed with more cardio and less resistence training for maximum weight loss. We have a few friends who are getting ready to try this version. I’ll have to keep you posted on their results.

The makers of P90X realize that one size does not fit all. Each person must assess both their current physical condition and their fitness goals before embarking on any new fitness program. This variety has had an interested side affect. Many people who graduate from P90X do it again! They want to try another version of the program or give their body a break and then, start in with the muscle confusion again.

I’ll write more about muscle confusion this week. If you’ve tried P90X or Wii Fit, tell us what you think. You can try P90X or any other Beachbody Workout with a 30 day money back guarantee. Who else does that?