Tony says: The shoulder and arms is a glamor routine, it’s the glamor muscles, it’s what’s exposed when you where a tank top. Twenty five years ago you would see me in a tank top; I started developing my arms, I started wearing it. There’s a lot going on, there’s a lot of stuff, and we repeat and we go quick and there’s one after another and there’s a big calorie burn. The shoulder is the link to everything else, it’s the link to chest and back, it’s the link to your arms, it’s an important part of your body to work on.
Overview: This is definitely one of the most fun of the P90X workout. If you’re a guy, you’re going to want to beef up your biceps, get some serious definition on your triceps, and bulk up your shoulders to give you width. If you’re a girl, this workout will help you tone and define, will help you firm up and burn away any wobbliness you might be carrying. As such, I always jump into this one with gusto, knowing that while it’s a tough workout it won’t leave me devastated on the floor like Plyometrics will, leaving me instead with a fantastic pump that will really motivate you.
The workout is simple. There are five sets, and you repeat each one twice. You cycle through an exercise for each part of your arm and your shoulders, so that you are constantly moving from bicep, to tricep, to shoulder. That way you have time to rest and recover, and still exert yourself to the max. The exercises are a fun variation, with the tricep exercises being the most varied.
Tools & Downloads. Insanity Calendar. P90X Shoulders and Arms Review. Tony says: The shoulder and arms is a glamor routine.
So enjoy!
Tip of the Day: Don’t hold your breath. Be aware of your breathing through, and don’t lock up and strain. Always breath smoothly and calmly, and use your rate of breath as a gauge for how hard you’re working.
The Workout:
Warm Up
The warm ups in P90X are for the most part identical in each workout, so you will quickly become familiar with this routine. This one is 9 minutes long and starts off with high knees, jogging on the spot, wide knees, heels to your butt. Then transition into jumping jacks and running lunges, and you’re done with the warm up.
From there he moves into a stretching section, where he begins with a series of head rolls, arms extended to the ground, working it from side to side. Roll the shoulders back, and then roll them forward. Bring your hands together before you, and stretch out your shoulders. Then lock your hands behind your back, and roll your shoulders back. A series of pec stretches, followed by arm circles, moving in both directions and in both tight and wide circles. Follow that up with some ballistic stretches, from huggers to arm shakers, back strokes and reachers.
Finish off with some arm stretches, bringing each arm across your chest to stretch out your shoulders,and then pull your hand behind your head to stretch out your triceps.
Workout
Set One
Alternating Shoulder Press [50 sec]: Stand straight, free weights held at shoulder height, palms to the front, and alternate extending each arm directly over head.
In and Out Bicep Curls [45 sec]: Simple. Do 16 reps of bicep curls, palms facing the front, lifting both dumbbells at the same time. Back straight, and don’t rock. The second curl is out wide, and go alternating the lift from directly infront to out to the side.
Two Arm Tricep Kickbacks [34 sec]: Bend over, flat back, and extend your arms back with the weights before lowering them down once more.
Ballistic Stretch [30 sec]
Set Two
Deep Swimmer’s Press [55 sec]: Stand straight, elbows locked against ribs, forearms extended horizontally, weights held. Lift weights to shoulder, then do a shoulder press, then lower back down.
Full Supination Concentration Curls [57 sec]: These are basic bicep curls, one at a time, but each time you reach the top, squeeze your bicep for an extra pulse.
Chair Dips [45 sec]: Place your hands behind you on a chair, and lower down into a dip. The further your feet are away from your body, the harder the workout.
Ballistic Stretch [30 sec]
Set Three
Upright Rows [44 sec]: Stand straight, weights by your side, and then draw them up before you, elbows flaring up and out to the side so that the weights stop just below your chin.
Static Arm Curls [1:05 sec]: Do four reps with one arm while the other holds the weight out before you, elbow locked into your side. On the fourth rep, lower that arm and lock the other in place.
Flip Grip Twist Kickback [48 sec]: Bend over, flat back, and hold the weighs below you with elbows locked into your side. Extend arms back, and each time change your hands so one time palms go back first, the second the back of your hands go back first.
Ballistic Stretch [34 sec]
Set Four
Seated Shoulder Flies [54 sec]: Sit down on a chair, lean over, back straight. Hold your weights down by your sides, and then lift them, elbows crooked to 90 degrees so that you pinch your shoulder blades together.
Crouching Cohen Curls [1:13 sec]: Crouch down, and lock your elbows into the inside of your knees. Do curls with your knees locking your elbows in place, so that in effect you are doing an isolation curl.
Lying Down Tricep Extensions [44 sec]: Lie down flat on your back, soles of your feet on the ground, and place the weights beyond your head. Lift them straight into the air, and then lower then back down to the ground, enaging your triceps to the max.
Ballistic Stretch [38 sec]
Set Five
Straight Arm Shoulder Flys [42 sec]: Stand straight, and then raise your arms directly before you. Lower them, and then raise them out to the sides.
Congdon Curls [57 sec]: Do a bicep curl, both at the same time, and then, when the weights reach the top, turn the weights so that they’re being held vertically, and lower them. Turn them horizontally at the bottom, and raise again.
Side Tri-Rise [57 sec]: Lie down flat on the ground, place the hand whose shoulder is touching the ground on the upper shoulder, and use the other hand to push off the ground, getting a tricep burn with each extension. Legs should be straight and at 30 degrees from the body, and you should aim to lift your torso from the ground.
Cool Down
Four minute cool down, which consists of jogging on the spot for awhile, some ballistic arm swings, pretending to jump rope, some reachers and pot stirrers. The goal is to keep you moving as you cool down. And with that, you’re done with one of the most fun of the P90X workouts!
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This P90X2 Review is about X2 Shouders + Arms and whether or not it could hold up to my rather high expectations. You see, P90X Shoulders and Arms is my all time favorite P90X Workout. So going into P90X2, I was anxious to see if this workout could stand a chance. It did not disappoint! An absolutely incredible workout. My first title was going to be “The Bomb”, but I thought everyone might think I was strange. This workout had some familiar moves with a twist. It was familiar enough to feel comfortable, and different enough to give you the “brand new” feeling.P90X2 Review – Shoulders + Arms + The BOMB
I just had to throw “the BOMB” in there, I loved my workout this morning. So what did I love about this workout? Everything. From warm-up to cool down. One thing I noticed right away is that there was only one shoulder exercise using heavier weight, the Arnold Press. Of course you repeat the Arnold Press 3x during the workout. The other shoulder exercises were all lighter weight, but make no mistake, my shoulders were on FIRE. Further, I love the concept of the 3 rounds, 7 moves each round. It changed it up from the usual Shoulder, Bi, Tri, Shoulder, Bi, Tri routine. Nice change up! So let’s break it down:
- This workout is approximately 52 minutes.
- As usual, and now feeling super familiar, you have the warm-up, foam rolling, and warm-up/stretch routine. About 13 minutes. Check out one of my other P90X2 Reviews for a more detailed look. X2 Core, Plyocide, X2 Total Body, and X2 Balance + Power all have detailed warm-up reviews. Let’s get right to the P90X2 Review of the actual workout!
- This workout has 3 rounds. Each round has 7 moves. You get about a 30-40 second water break in between rounds 1 and 2, and then again between rounds 2 and 3. The workout section lasts approximately 33 minutes. What? 33 minutes. Crazy, so are you telling me each round is about 10 minutes in length? That’s correct. This workout flies by. And it has so many options. I’ll talk about that below, but first let’s get a look at the moves in each round.
- Repeat 3 times:
1. Balance Curl *
2. Arnold Press (Alternating) *
3. Overhead Tricep Pull
4. Six Direction Shoulder Fly *
5. Crazy Eights *
6. Y-T Fly
7. Rocket Launcher Tricep Kickback
- Workout Options:
- Four of the moves are on one leg, Kinda. (I placed an asterisk next to them above). You can complete these moves in a few ways. You can either manually raise a leg slightly (and balance on one leg), use a stability ball to place a foot on, I tried a medicine ball (for fun on a few of them). I imagine some people that have a bosu ball will use those. The idea is to make this a balance posture along with a strength move. You will likely need to drop your weight slightly to complete the move with good form. Engage your core!
- Two of the moves are completed with the stability ball. Those moves are the Overhead Tricep Pull and the Y-T Fly.
- The last move Rocket Launcher is using a step, chair, or the floor, whichever you have available.
- You can go heavier weight if you’re going for size, or lighter weight for reps and toning.
- While I think it would defeat the purpose of the X2 strategy, I’m sure you can even take the balance moves out entirely, and go “old school”.
- I thought this routine would be a great workout to take to the GYM. I like a change of scenery every now and again, and I think this one would be easy to just grab your P90X2 Worksheets and head to a local gym.
P90x Shoulders And Arms Video
- The cool down and stretch is 6 minutes. I know I say it a lot in these reviews, but I absolutely love the cool downs. The addition of using the stability ball to stretch out my shoulders is fantastic. I get such a great stretch, and after lighting my shoulders on fire in this workout, the shoulder stretch with the stability ball was priceless.
- Can you travel with this P90X2 workout? Yes. As with all the X2 workouts so far, this is an easy workout to travel with. Get you some bands and you’re all set! If you had a decent hotel gym, you can get it done there too.
P90X2 Equipment Required:
- Stability Ball or Towel & Sturdy Chair
- Foam Roller (Optional)
- Plyo Box or Sturdy Chair
- WeightsorBands
- Powerstands (Optional)
- Worksheets and Pen
- Water and Towel
Let me sum up the necessary P90X2 Equipment Needed. Get a foam roller and a stability ball! I absolutely love the addition of these two items. I love my Powerblocks or you need a good set of weights. If your traveling, get some resistance bands or a hotel gym. I have no clue why Powerstands is an option. I never seen them in the workout, maybe I missed something, but I doubt it.
So that’s it for this P90X2 Review of Shoulders + Arms. Final Thoughts…
P90X Shoulders & Arms was my all time favorite in the P90X Workout. Then camed the One on One Shoulders & Arms (it was okay, but not sure it was better than P90X version). And now the grand prize winner X2 Shoulders + Arms. I love it, and I think you will too. As always, I write these reviews for you, and I hope you find them useful. Please visit our store if you ever need anything Beachbody. As Tony Horton is always saying, buy P90X products, as it helps him pay the bills….. Well, buy from my store….it helps me pay my bills, which in turn helps Tony pay his bills. lol. Good luck with P90X2! If you want to read another P90X2 Review, you can find them all by clicking here.
Who should consider P90X2?
P90x Shoulders And Arms
- Those that have graduated from P90X, Insanity, Insanity Asylum, Chalean Extreme, Turbo Fire or other advanced program.
- Athletes
- Power 90 graduates can also consider P90X2, although they may want to stay in Phase 1 of the program for a longer period of time.