NO I’M NOT ADVOCATING IT AT ALL!!!
just a question…
I see it as glorified circuit training. I have a friend that says its more to it than that.
My wife did P90X for a while…and I did some of it, too. It’s not all circuits…some of it is straight sets…it depends on which DVD you are doing.
If you really give it 110% it can be really good for conditioning. I checked out their new program Insanity not long ago…that is even more conditioning based…and is all body weight.
But I think for most of us on here…we can create these same type of conditioning workouts. P90X is good for someone who is looking for that kind of training and has no programming experience it all.
But honestly, sometimes it is kind of nice to have something to follow along with and not really put much thought into it…just bring it and leave a lung on the floor.
A lot of it is circuit training, but there is also yoga, palates and other stuff. P90X is good for conditioning, but doesn’t appeal to most athletes because we like to write our own programs and don’t like dancing in front of our TVs.
It’s a good program for businessmen looking to get in shape, housewives looking to lose fat, etc. Not for bodybuilders.
I’m sure it’s a lot less embarrassing than Zumba. If it seems appalling to you, you should try it. I’ve seen all the videos floating around on bittorrent.
I admit. I’ve watched the infomerical out of curiosity. It looks effective for Joe Smoe because it has a lot of variety and includes at least minimal diet advice.
oh cmon man, zumba makes you shake your ASS 
[quote]TPreuss wrote:
A lot of it is circuit training, but there is also yoga, palates and other stuff. P90X is good for conditioning, but doesn’t appeal to most athletes because we like to write our own programs and don’t like dancing in front of our TVs.
It’s a good program for businessmen looking to get in shape, housewives looking to lose fat, etc. Not for bodybuilders. [/quote]
That couldn’t have been said any better…
Well, I have to say that I’m doing the program (didn’t buy it, borrowed it) because I can lift heavy and it’s fun to be the big guy, but the only time I’ve ever been motivated and gotten results when it came to cutting/improving my endurance/doing cardio was back in the high school football and wrestling days.
I’m not doing it because I am trying to gain mass…I have that (and some MASS that I want to get rid of - aka FAT), I’m doing it because when it comes to a cutting program it looks like it’ll do the job, it’s MINDLESS enough that I can just follow it, sweat my balls off and lose BF.
I have waaaay too much ADD to do a treadmill or elliptical, and given that I live in NE Ohio, running outdoors is either snow or 80 degrees and 98% humidity…and I always liked the plyometric/cone drill stuff during football. But how much is enough for a guy who would rather say “Screw cardio…lets do some deadlifts!”? Mindless, again, is a good thing for someone like me when it comes to a cutting tool.
I’m actually surprised that it’s as popular as it is, given that it’s an infomercial type of thing - they’re usually magic-pill/quick fix snake oil products. This is a program, and they stress diet (which a lot of these ‘ab fixes’ on late night TV say isn’t important with their product) and it’s actually difficult, especially if you’ve been on an extended bulking phase (in other words, NO cardio) for a while.
But don’t expect it to increase mass unless you have none to begin with.
In reply to the first question, yup it’s circuit training.
And if you’d like a very lengthy analysis of why that’s the case, please see part 2 of 3 on my p90x monograph 
best
mc