I had a go at this recently, I liked it, keeps things changing all the time and its obviously been well thought out.
I agree about the pseudo-science bit... "muscle confusion" is BS. The Kenpo X is pretty much Tae Bo... they don't do barbell lifts, and as stated, several of the people on the DVDs are "hired" fitness models/professionals. And yes, they hype the program up a bit... why wouldn't they, they're trying to sell the program. But it is quite clear based on your comments that you have no idea what's involved in the program... I think we'd both agree that this program was designed for the layperson, not someone training as a competitive athlete or even a fitness addict... The program is designed for the individual who wants a workable blueprint (to get in decent shape) for working out at home with little guess work and a minimal investment in equipment. Because they use terms like sculpting and toning does not mean the program is bad, it simply means they are "in tune" with their marketplace. Their intended audience is familiar with this type of language, not the typical jargon of a gym-rat or an athlete. Obviously it is a business, but just because they are good at what they do (e.g. salesmanship / marketing) does not mean the information contained within the program is crap (and for what it's worth, Tony Horton specifically states this is not "low impact cardio" in the DVDs). And just as a side note, even though they use fitness models in their DVDs (only a couple of them are), the results shown in their infomercials are real. How do I know? Because I've met several of them (and knew a couple of them before they did the program). In fact one of the people on the infomercial is actually a pretty good friend of mine (not sure if he's in the most current one, but he was in the one last fall). I also know tons of people (even here at my office) who's gone through amazing transformations following P90X (not to mention myself). Some were relatively new to this type of intense exercise, but some of them were not out-of-shape slobs either- I won't say they're athletes or anything but individuals who were in average to better-than-average shape (in other words, people that go to the gym consistently). It is amazing the type of transformations that can take place in 90-days if you exercise properly and pay attention to your diet... to say someone can't get the results shown in the testimonials sections of the informercial is simply ignorant. Tell that the people who've done it. -- For what it's worth, I don't think people ought to judge a program based on superficial knowledge without having experienced a program first hand. I'm personally quite open minded to most information (unless I think it's dangerous). For instance, I started using kettlebells way before it was fashionable, when many people said it was a "fad" and is only suitable for certain types of conditioning. I even heard some people who supposedly are "in the know" say: "It's a waste of time". Eight years later, it's gone mainstream, fitness trainers have jumped on the bandwagon and you can now buy these at the local sporting goods store. In any event... is P90X the "be all - end all" of all fitness training? Nope. And I don't think they say it is... But I think it's a damn good start if you want to get in great shape relatively quickly and I think someone could do worse things than investing 90 days to do the program (even if it's just for a change of pace). /Stef P.S. The "X" stands for "Extreme" - this program is a continuation of another program called Power 90 offered by Beachbody (the people behind P90X). P90X stands for "power 90 Xtreme".
