The Corvette of Fitness vs. A Gremlin:
P90X vs Supreme 90 Day
Know thy competition: I've been around sports long enough, where if you want a successful game plan, you have to know your competition well. Back in college as a student trainer, Coach Tim Miles (then at Mayville State University (ND), now at Colorado State University) was a genius when it came to scouting basketball teams. He'd have certain labels for what kind of player each player on the opposing team was like, and what it took to successfully defend them, and break their weak points on defense with a 'cutting edge' of play. He'd have some labels like Athletes, Post Players, All-Around Players, and yes, Dorks. Dorks were nothing more than a guy to pass the ball to, while the other 4 tried to make a play happen, and the Dork's job would be to give it to someone to actually try to produce a point or two. I think I have found the "Dork" of fitness DVD's with my latest purchase of a workout system called "Supreme 90 Day".
As a Beachbody Coach and as a consulted sports coach & fitness trainer for the past 10+ years, I have always been asked questions about at home workout videos and at home exercise equipment. I worked most of my career in the fitness center setting. Most of my own workouts were done at home as a way to avoid being barraged with questions on my personal time at the gym. (It would really interfere with my workouts when I did attempt to workout at a fitness center with others around.) Back then, there was never really an at-home routine for men to follow, mainly aerobics-based workout VHS tapes for women. I remember buying a Tae Bo tape once, just to see what the buzz was about, and felt I got more out of an interval workout on the track than I did with a kicky-punchy session. Now that I've been out of the full-time fitness center scene and specialize more in the at-home market as a Beachbody Coach, I have come to learn that there are some great, effective workout series for both men & women today. From P90X to 10-Minute Trainer, there are some good solutions that exist out there. I have been through P90X, P90X Plus, and Insanity over the past year now with my own training, so I know what these workouts are like, what they demand, and what I can inform my clients about if they decide to start their own fitness journey with them.
Recently, I saw a new program, for only $19.95, called "Supreme 90 Day". It boasted 10 DVD's, plus a bonus Ab workout DVD, and it all a 'steal' at around $20. Immediately I thought this was a knock off, rip-off program, designed to be marketed as a cheap, mass market alternative to the monster program that is P90X. P90X is 12 videos plus Ab Ripper X (see the similarities a bit?) Both come with a nutrition plan, & a workout chart to boot. It got even worse when I started seeing names of the workout DVD's: Chest & Back, Shoulders & Arms, Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, plus Back & Biceps are all names in common. P90X has Core Synergistics. S90D has "Core Dynamics". P90X has Cardio X, S90D was "Cardio Challenge". Huh...
Let's get into more details here, as I have reviewed all DVD's of Supreme 90 Day's set, and want to share my unadulterated commentary on it. (Okay, I'll try to keep it clean...but since I sell P90X, you might tell where this is going.)
The only thing really Supreme about Supreme 90 Day is its ultimate rip-offery of Tony Horton's hard work with the P90X system and his correlating programs, like Power 90, 10 Minute Trainer, and Power Half-Hour. To be on Tony's side a little here, I respect the guy for coming up with a knock-one-outta-the-park hit with P90X. It is really is a comprehensive system that can be tailored for most people's goals, as fully detailed in the textbook of a workout guide you get. S90D gives you NOTHING as far as a workout guide. Zilch. Nothing. The workout chart is about the size of an 11x17 page and just lists ONE program option to do. Wow...way to have 11 possible videos and have some variety with it for your customers. The "workout support" online from S90D is not much better than a generic fitness forum, and it doesn't even have fitness or nutritional experts to help you! Beachbody blows them away on this one, and has much more assistance for a P90X'er than S90D dreams about. From having your own Beachbody Coach to being able to ask about any question you want (and get answers!) in the Team Beachbody forums, P90X is hands-down a winner in support systems over S90D. Another key matchup is in the nutrition guides. Boasted as being by NYT bestseller Tosca Reno, its basically a 30 day program you're supposed to do 3 times over with S90D. P90X once again hits a dinger out of the park, compared to the foul-out pop fly of S90D, with 3 different phases of nutritional programs to follow, matched up with the 3 main phases of P90X. The guide from P90X is a textbook, compared to the fitness expo-ish handout you get with S90D. If P90X's guide is the novel, S90D is Cliff's Notes for dieting.
When it comes to production on the videos, P90X wins hands-down again. P90X has countdown timers, both overall and for each exercise series, names of the exercises and workout sections, and a great menu selection to get you started. S90D has only a 5 second countdown timer flash on the screen for certain exercises that go for 20 to 30 seconds total. No names of the exercises...workouts are basically told to you, so you better have the volume turned up, or you'll miss it. If you hate the music, you'll have to put up with it. P90X at least has the music option for you, as well as other options. You can tell this was a bare-bones, basic as hell, video production. (which is done by award winning producer, Cal Rezo~!, promoted on their packaging and website...whoever the hell he is.) The warm-up and cool-downs are literally cut & pasted on EVERY workout video (don't know about the ab one, don't have that one since you have to buy it seperately via 'shipping and handling', and its only a 6 minute workout video from what I've read anyway). So, S90D has the same 5 minute warm up for a strength session or cardio session...not really a wise choice, compared to the detailed routines of warm-ups and cool-downs for every P90X individual P90X routine. You can tell they did this for lower costs of production, I'm sure.
As far as the workouts go, here's what I find funny at first: both systems boast a Chest & Back routine. P90X is mainly push up and pull-up variations for this workout. S90D has no pull ups in any routine...yet they have a coupon for a 'free' Iron Gym pull-up bar for your door for $14.95 shipping and handling. I find it ironic they'd try to sell you a chin up bar that you can't use in the program. (The really funny thing is, I already had an Iron Gym bar for my doorway before I got P90X, and it worked great for me through the P90X program.) The S90D Chest & Back routine is basically pairing up a chest & back exercise, doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps each (3 rounds of chest/back, chest/back, chest/back), and doing that repeatedly with other chest/back exercises in pairs. P90X has timed sets, workout sheets to follow and record reps, and gives you many variations to do. S90D was extremely limited for options for you. Also, there are no workout sheets to follow, even when you try to find them online, you have to search the help forum, and download a 'shared file' from a guy you don't even know. (Would you feel really safe with that: viruses, anyone???) I feel the push-up/pull-up focus of P90X may last longer, but is way more beneficial for functional strength.
Basically the strength routines of S90D follow a bi-set or tri-set format, such as for the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps DVD, you do a chest exercise, a shoulder one, then a tricep one, and repeat that sequence 3 times. Then another series of chest/shoulder/triceps is followed. The workouts are much shorter, in the 30-40 minute time frame, versus the 60-75 minute frame of P90X. Once again, I think this is an effort to be the cheaper, less time consuming alternative to the more superior P90X routines. I just see college kids buying this, doing it for 1-2 weeks, thinking they saved a lot of money, and spend the rest they 'saved' over not buying P90X and using the savings for beer, wings, and pizza...and still getting nowhere in the end.
The Cardio Challenge from S90D has one good exercise I saw: the Dumbbell Swing, similar to the kettlebell swing. I'm a fan of Swings, so I applaud them on this one. But, too many of the drills bear a strong resemblance to the drills/exercises of P90X and even some from Insanity. Don't be fooled by the magic mirror effect of this. What appears to be 'just like it' is NOT like it at all. I have done the Tabata Inferno program, but honestly, I've done harder workouts on my own with bodyweight, kettlebells, or a tear-it-up session on the track with sprint/jog's in the 20s work, 10s rest x 8 rate of the Tabata Interval protocol. I tear it up more with a 20 minute Tabata session on the track then I did with 30 minutes of this workout. Plyo X from P90X KICKS this one in the first 20 minutes alone, time for time. Another thing on Cardio Challenge, its kind of a mix of P90X Plyo X, some Insanity stuff, and core exercises, but just because it has some similarities doesn't mean its the same thing.
Oh, and where else do I show the epic failures of this knock off attempt? How about its packaging. Bought mine at Target, which is WAY better than buying it online, which according to about every review I saw, was a crappy experience for all. The 'expedited shipping' of S90D's Telebrands company, supposedly in a week, takes 3-4 in actuality and the customer service from them is terrible. You'll also save yourself about $10 if you were to buy it in a store, compared to $31+ online total. P90X is sold both in infomercials and online, through their own sites or through their network of Beachbody Coaches. In all my Beachbody programs I have purchased, and supplements included, everything gets to me in about a week's time, no problem. P90X comes in a nice box, with complete fitness and nutrition guides, and a nice DVD sleeve set for all the DVD's. S90D's DVD sleeves are, in a word, horrible. You are better off getting a $5-10 CD case to slide them into, just so you can protect them in the future. Otherwise they will probably slide out on you, or not go in right. So, at least you are getting a fully-labeled DVD sleeve set for your P90X DVD's. No labels in the 'pages' you slide your S90D DVD's into...just remember where you got the video in the blank sleeves. (A seperate case is ideal if you are to get this, just for that reason alone.)
Also, let's compare who the video's are made/showcased by. Tony Horton is now a household name when it comes to at-home fitness. It all started with Power 90, and has grown his brand immensely with P90X in recent years. Beachbody has been the winning team behind him in this mission. S90D is listed as being created by "Fitness Experts John Dull and Michelle Collier". They are NOWHERE to be found on the DVD's that I know of. (At least Tony introduces you to his workout buddies...like Traci Morrow and Mark Briggs, my fellow TBB Coaches on P90X Plus!) The video is led by, or as labeled on the DVD's, "Tom Holland", so is he a trainer, a trainer of celebrities, or just a guy with a stopwatch and barking the same old diatribe each DVD? Tom Holland, Tony Horton...hmmmm. Wonder if that was deliberate or not? Hard to say. My guess is that it is. But no one knows who the hell Tom Holland is. Tony at least greets you late at night, or on the weekends with his infomercials you can't avoid. :) He's like the fit guy next door that you want to go on a bike ride with, and hope he doesn't take you off a trail into the mountains just for fun. Tom Holland is, well, my guess is he is an actor who stars in a 10 DVD workout video series that is a poor attempt at copying the complete training system of P90X.
Yes, I'm biased, but seriously...P90X is $120 plus shipping, and you will get so much more out of it than a $20 knock off attempt at duplicating it. As a Coach and trainer, it is my duty to inform you of my opinion of what these programs are like.
In a P90X vs S90D battle, it is no comparison. P90X wins, hands-down.
Save your $20 and get one of Beachbody's intro/add-on DVD's, such as Insanity: Fast & Furious, or TurboFire: Greatest HIIT's. $20 can also get you individual workouts from the Power 90: Master Series, which is like a "Pre-90X" routine to follow if you think P90X is too much for you. $60 gets you the complete 6 DVD P90:MS set if you wanted to spend half the money of P90X and get a solid package to follow. And, you can get them to you in less than a week, plus have a Beachbody Coach to assist you. Supreme 90 Day has nothing to assist you. Seriously, nothing at all to help you out, the forums are completely dry of fitness advice from trainers (or from the creators themselves, it was even a question on the forum as to why they don't have online help from the people behind it!).
Chat with me about what programs might be ideal for you. Beachbody is THE name when it comes to this stuff. Don't succumb to the knockoffs. Stick with the game winners.
I have now informed you of the competition out there. Now its time to start P90X or another Beachbody program and start Winning. Duh! :)
http://BeachbodyCoach.com/asaptrainer
