[This is the fifth P90X2 review in a planned series: , , , and .  I will write additional reviews of the other routines as I do them.]  If you have any questions about this workout, contact me at .

General Impressions

This workout could have been called X2 Core2 or Total Body2.  In keeping with P90X2’s emphasis on core work and multi-muscle group conditioning, X2 Balance Power consists of about twenty-four exercises that will test the limits of your core strength, and work out your entire body at the same time.  Expect to feel the burn from head to toe, but especially in your midsection.  Just like X2 Core, every exercise will recruit your core muscles.  Recommended gear are a foam roller, stability ball, medicine ball, and weights or resistance bands.  Weights are preferred over bands in this workout.  This is actually the case for all the workouts in Phase I.  In the last six months, I’ve been transitioning from weights to resistance bands for a number of reasons, but since starting P90X2, I’m back on the weights.  Many of the exercises are simply too awkward or ineffective when performed with resistance bands.

Today, Tony is joined by Steve, a daredevil ski instructor, Dan “the Man,” who Tony introduces as a extreme fitness buff, and Kit, Tony’s sister.  She is the spitting image of Tony, including the ripped abs.  Maybe it runs in the family, or maybe they both work their asses off.

The warmups, stretching, and foam roller exercises are the same as the other workouts in P90X2, and have been previously discussed in .

The Main Event

Sphinx to Plank Plyo Bounce.  Get into sphinx plank position with your forearms on top of a stability ball.  Quickly push up so that you land into regular plank position on the stability ball.  If you push hard enough, you can create a bounce that will help you with this exercise.  Repeat 15-20 times, or until your triceps or core gives out.

1-Leg Plyo Squat Reach.  Start off by standing on one leg.  Do a squat, reach down and touch the supporting foot with the opposite hand.  As you return to the standing position, leap vertically and reach to the ceiling with the same hand.  Repeat 10-15 times, then switch your support leg.  Activates your core and entire lower body.

Russian Twist.  The name sounds like a cocktail, but it’s nothing you want to order for yourself unless you’re a glutton for pain. Sit on the floor with your knees bent in front of you, feet off the floor.  Hold a medicine ball between your knees.  Grasp a dumbbell with both hands at chest level and do side to side twists with it, making sure to keep the medicine ball in place and your feet off the ground.  Perform 25-30 twists. This will work your lower, middle, and upper abs, and obliques.

X-Plank Spider Twist.  Get into plank position with feet wide apart and hands underneath the shoulders.  Twist your body to one side and move your non-supporting hand and its opposite foot until they touch (e.g., if you are resting on your right arm, touch your left hand to your right foot.  Do about 20-26 reps, alternating sides.  A hardcore way of doing oblique crunches.

Dumbbell Row to Side Plank.  Grab  a dumbbell on each hand and get into plank position.  In a rowing motion, lift one dumbbell to chest height, then quickly transition to a side balance position.  Raise the dumbbell towards the ceiling while keeping your arm as straight as possible.  The other arm is supporting your weight.  When done properly, there should be a straight line from the raised arm to the supporting arm.  Lower yourself back into plank and do this exercise for the other arm.  Perform about 20-24 reps, alternating sides.  Works your shoulders and back, but also recruits your core.

Dumbbell Super Burpee.  Start in the standing position with a dumbbell in each hand.  Raise one foot off the ground, lower yourself into plank position, and then do a pushup on the dumbbells.  Go back into the one-legged standing position, curl the dumbbells, then press them over your head.  Repeat 6-10 times for each side.  This total body exercise will quickly wear you out.

Plank Ball Crunch.  More fun with the stability ball.  Thank God this is the last exercise, because it will waste your core.  Get into plank position with your hands resting on the floor, but your feet balanced on top of the stability ball.  Bend your knees and roll the stability ball towards your hands.  If you’re flexible, you can touch your knees to your forward.  Push the stability ball back to the starting position.  This exercise sounds and looks easy, but the balancing will keep your midsection flexed for the entire duration.  Your midsection will be begging for mercy after about 20 reps.

Final Thoughts

I will judge this workout on what I think it is designed to do.  First and foremost, it is a core workout.  Every exercise will activate your gluts, lower back, lower abs, mid abs, upper abs, and/or obliques.  There is a fair share of balancing exercises as well.  The addition of the stability ball revs up the intensity in every exercise that calls for it.  Your core will be in a continuous state of flex as you perform the exercises.  Sphinx pushups, which already require a lot of core strength, become twice as hard while performed on a stability ball.  Working out on flat surfaces now seem ridiculously easy.  In this regard, X2 Balance Power succeeds handedly.

I said at the beginning that this workout could be called X2 Core2.  X2 Balance Power picks up where X2 Core leaves off by adding weights to intensify the core work.  This is a good thing, but I feel that my upper back and biceps are missing out a bit, at least in Phase I.  There is not a lot of pull-up work in Phase I, compared to two days each week of hardcore pull-ups in [intlink id=”11″ type=”page”]P90X[/intlink].  Some people will love this, but I don’t because pull-ups were one of my strengths.  I hope my lats don’t atrophy from lack of use. I don’t feel my biceps are getting much work either.

I’m looking forward to moving on to Phase II to see if all this core prep work has helped.

Do you have any questions about this article or anything relating to health, fitness, and weight loss? Email me at . I love to hear from my readers!