Tony Horton Answers Your P90X3 Questions!

After P90X transformed the lives of millions of users and P90X2 brought their fitness to the next level, Tony had a lot of people scratching their heads, wondering how he planned to follow all those hard-workin’, result-gettin’, 60- to 90-minute workouts.

How about a series of hard-workin’, result-gettin’, 30-minute workouts? That’s right, Tony and his team of highly trained fitness and nutrition monkeys developed P90X3—a program designed to help busy folks get in the best shape of their lives in just half an hour a day.

Tony sat down with us recently to discuss what’s different about P90X3. Here’s what he had to say.

So why should I buy P90X3 when I’ve already done P90X?
It’s shorter. Are we done now? Can I go?

Ummm…
Just kidding—not about it being shorter though—because this time, it’s all about efficiency. Each workout is a compact, tidy 30 minutes. That’s half an episode of House of Cards. Also, there’s a ton of new material, like eccentric training. Even if you’ve done my entire P90X ONE on ONE series there are going to be things you’ve never seen before.

Eccentric, like the nice way of saying a rich person is crazy?
No, that’s not really the demographic we’re shooting for. The eccentric motion is the part of an exercise where you’re lengthening the muscle, like when you go down on a bicep curl. It’s sometimes called the negative motion. By slowing down the tempo of that motion, more of the muscle is activated, thus creating greater growth potential.

Can you really get fit in 30 minutes? Can I get the same results as I did from P90X?
Absolutely! Do you really think I’d make a program that wouldn’t work? Seriously! Just look at the test group results. Some of those folks got ripped! It doesn’t take the place of P90X or P90X2, necessarily, but let’s face it, time is an issue for most of us—so the goal of X3 was to get rid of that excuse. Even if you only have 30 minutes, you can still get stronger, healthier, and just plain better.

Great, but how?
There’s a lot less downtime in these workouts. I’m there to help you get the job done! But that doesn’t mean cutting corners. It’s not like I have you do half the push-ups or shortchange your warm-up. Shorter workouts are a trend in exercise science right now and P90X3 takes that research to a different level. It has to do with interval training and compound moves and mixing different styles of training—all of which I’ve been including in my programs for years, but never like this.

Do I need to do P90X or P90X2 before I do P90X3?
Nope. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite. I think P90X3 sets you up to have a stronger foundation for both of those programs.

So, it goes P90X3, then P90X, then P90X2? Isn’t that confusing?
Everyone seemed to cope with The Godfather: Part II being basically a prequel to The Godfather, so just run with it. But, really, you don’t need to do them in that order, or any order. They’re all different, and they all build on each other in both directions by adding different fitness elements. If you’ve already done P90X and P90X2, you’re still going to be challenged by X3. But if you’re starting from scratch, I think it’s the best place to begin.

What’s available in the different packages, like Base, Deluxe, and Ultimate?
Hmm, I’ll find out for you, but first, I have to finish personally formulating the next flavor of Shakeology®. Then I’ve got to buy a few blocks of television time for the P90X3 infomercial. And then I need to head to my garage where I handcraft my Tony Horton PowerStands. Dude, I don’t know that stuff! There’s a company, maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called Beachbody and they have experts on all sorts of things. I’m sure one of them knows.

Okay, okay, well how fit do you need to be?
That I can answer. With modifications we’ve tried to make the entry level lower than P90X and P90X2—but you still need a reasonable fitness base. This isn’t for armchair quarterbacks. You should probably be fit enough to throw around the pigskin a little. If you can’t do push-ups at all, or downward dog, or if you’ve never lifted weights before, you’d be better off starting with Power 90® to build your base fitness.

What equipment will I need?
As much as I like to play with new toys, we wanted to make this version of X as accessible as possible, so we didn’t include much gear. All you really need are a few different exercise bands. But if you really want to dial it up, you might want to invest in a pull-up bar, weights, a yoga mat, and PowerStands. If you don’t want to get those things, no problem. Don’t let a lack of equipment hold you back—but if I find out that you’re spending that money on Big Macs, some cable sports channel package, or the latest iWhatever, you and I are going to have a serious talk.

How many days a week is it?
Six, like P90X, except it’s half the time. That’s 3 teeny, tiny hours, people! Think about that. I read recently that the average American spends 34 hours a week watching TV—that means you can get in the best shape of your life in less time than most people spend watching commercials.

What is your favorite move in the program?
That’s like asking a dad to pick his favorite kid. They’re all my children! Seriously, my favorite moves change all the time. I love pull-ups . . . core moves…yoga. Wait! Maybe my current favorite is something from Pilates, because it’s new to the lineup and it’s completely changed my life. Honestly, it felt weird at first but now that it’s clicked, I can’t believe I went so long without doing it regularly.

Don’t you need a big, weird board with a bunch of pulleys to do Pilates?
A reformer? No, you don’t need that with our Pilates. You do for some forms, but we’ve got you covered. Like I said, P90X3 isn’t about selling you a bunch of gear. It’s about getting you in shape.

What’s the nutrition component of P90X3 like?
It’s awesome, of course. Here’s a little secret—I don’t follow a dedicated nutrition plan when I eat. I listen to my body. It took years of trial and error to figure out how to do this, but we figured out a way to avoid all that. It’s a concept we call “Intuitive Eating”—as in eating based on your intuition. It’s not as much about telling you what to eat as much as giving you the tools so that you figure out what your body needs.

So what if my intuition tells me I need Bundt cake and Quarter Pounders?
Then we’ll have your copy of P90X3 delivered straight to the ICU.

Don’t worry. There’s plenty of guidance in the nutrition guide, but it’s flexible in terms of your proteins, fats, and carbs, not to mention your personal tastes, beliefs, or dietary system—within a healthy context.

What if I don’t like to cook?
Am I wearing an apron right now? No. I’m not a big cook either, but you don’t need to be if you want to eat healthy. It’ll work to your advantage if you can boil an egg or steam a little broccoli, but the plan has you covered. Everything, from exercise to eating to using equipment, has been streamlined to limit excuses. P90X3 is a No-Excuse Zone! I want you to get into the best shape of your life and I want it to be as easy as possible.

This is truly a program designed to let you do your best and forget the rest.