P90X Moves I Don’t Do (And Neither Should You)

There are several exercises in P90X that are no longer recommended due to risk of injury.  Let me tell you what they are.

I learned from my coach who went through the P90X Certification course what these three moves are.  At first I substituted something else for them so I wouldn’t feel cheated.  Now that I’m almost through my third round I just skip forward through them completely and save my energy for the following moves.  Along the way I’ve also learned what works and what doesn’t work for me.  There are some additional moves that I fast forward through because I don’t get any benefit from them, plus it saves more time during my early morning workouts (I only have an hour).    Here they are.

Don’t Do These Moves

1. Crouching Cohen Curls (appears in Shoulders & Arms and Back & Biceps workouts):  In this move you crouch down, lean your butt against a wall and perform bicep curls.  This puts way too much strain on your lower back, especially when you try to “heavy up” your weight.  Skip it completely or substitute regular standing bicep curls.
2. Pour Flys (appears in Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps):  This is the one where you do a straight-arm fly out to the side with a light weight, and when your arms are parallel to the floor you rotate your hands down as though you were pouring water from a glass.  This strains everything from your elbow up to your shoulder in an unnatural move.  Skip it or substitute simple straight-arm flys.
3. Toe Roll Iso Lunges (appears in Legs & Back):  Ever get “turf-toe”?  If not you may get it with this move.  From an exaggerated lunge position, you push off the ball of your back foot and roll onto the toe.  This really strains the big toe and could result in the dreaded turf toe.  Skip it or substitute regular alternating lunges.

Other Moves I Skip (or Modify)

1. Three Way Lunge (Legs & Back):  Lunge in three different directions (to the front, 45 degrees, and to the side) followed by a kick.  First of all we barely have enough room to do this one without kicking each other when my wife and I are working out together.  It just takes too much space and I end up half-assing the move.  I now substitute the side-to-side Wood Chop that is a core exercise in Rev Abs.  Holding a weight over your right shoulder, do a side lunge to the left while swinging the weight down below your left knee.  Come to a complete stop (this is where the ab work comes in) before returning to the starting position.  Alternate left and right sides.
2. Dreya Rolls (Core Synergistics):  Anyone who has tried these knows they are a pain in the butt. From a standing position fall back onto your butt, drop your hands to the floor and roll up onto your shoulder blades, then roll forward back to a standing position without pushing off with your hands.  If you can stand up, congratulations.  The only way I can get back up on my feet is to do this cross-legged, scissoring my legs back to the top.
3. Football Hero (Plyometrics):  Four side-to-side steps forward followed by 6 high steps back.  Sorry, but this comes too late in the bonus round for me to get anything out of it.  Besides, by the time this comes around my Results & Recovery Formula is calling me 🙂
4. Dreya Forearm Stretch (XStretch):  Imagining my arms pulling through cement just doesn’t do anything for me.
5. Crane (YogaX):  This is a really difficult move and Tony even tells you to skip it if you’re not able to do it so you don’t crash your head on the floor and break your neck.  I’ve been able to get up on my hands a few times but to me it’s not worth the effort.  I usually skip it.  (For those that really want to learn how to do it Coach Mike put together this Crane video to demonstrate how to do it properly).

So there you have it.  No need to be a hero and force yourself to do absolutely every move.  Skip the ones that present risk of injury, and skip or modify any others that you don’t feel do much for you.  As Tony says, “do your best, and forget the rest!”

About John T

I am an Independent Team Beachbody Coach who found success using Beachbody's fitness programs and nutriton guides. I'm here to see that you have the same success I have had using Beachbody programs.