P90 Masters: UML (Upper Middle Lower)

This workout is part of the Masters series, intended as an intermediary between P90 and P90X. The workout is a fun circuit format where each 'set' has three exercises: a push-up-based upper body move, a core move and a lower body move. Some of the sets have a rest between them. Tony works with two assistants, one of whom modifies.

I really enjoy circuit workouts and feel like the time goes by quickly when this format is used. I also enjoy body weight exercises. I am not very good at them and often just do plain ones instead of whatever fancy thing Tony does, but my upper body responds really well to this sort of training. I also liked how the ab work was mixed in short sets like this. I dislike ab work and tend to skip it when it is lumped together at the end.

So in those respects, this was a great workout for me. However, my lower body tends to need higher-rep work, so for me this could not be my only strength workout. It's fine as part of a larger Tony rotation, but it's really more of an 'upper body plus' workout for me. I did enjoy it though.

Each circuit is fairly self-contained, so this workout offers some flexibility if you want to break it up or stop early. I only have half an hour in the morning to exercise, so I stopped at that point. When I checked the breakdown on VF later, I learned I had only missed one circuit plus the cool-down.

I am glad I have started exploring the Masters series at last and this got things off to a good start for me. I enjoyed the workout and am sure I will get good use out of it.

Overview:

This workout is part of the Power 90 Master¡¦s series, a set of videos that is supposed to bridge the gap between the original Power 90 videos and the P90X series. It runs about 40 minutes and all of the exercises are bodyweight, making this video ideal for people who travel, or don¡¦t like to use equipment.

About Myself:

I am an advanced exerciser with weight work, intermediate to advanced in cardio, and a solid intermediate in yoga. I alternate between the gym and working out at home.

The Workout:

UML has two background exercisers, Veronica, who modifies, and Bobby, who does the most advanced version. The instructor, Tony Horton, does some of the exercises, but will periodically stop and check the backgrounders¡¦ form. The set is bright, a marbled turquoise blue with opaque windows. This sounds bright, but the effect was cheerful, and not overpowering.

As with all of the 90 Series videos, a bar runs across the bottom of the screen to tell you how much time has elapsed and how much longer you have to go. Every once in a while a picture of Tony pops up from the bar to give silent, word-bubble tips. This was kind of disturbing when previewing, but I didn¡¦t notice when I was actually doing the workout.

The sound (both the music and instructor¡¦s voice) on the video is soft. I had to turn the TV volume way up. The music is forgettable- a soft rock with no vocals. There are options for music and cues to be louder, but I will probably end up doing the video with cues only and my own music.

The warm-up is a typical Tony Horton warm-up: jogging, lateral runs, lunges and then stretching, both static and ballistic. It clocked in at 7:23. The exercises consisted of an upper body exercise (pushups), an abdominal exercise, and a lower body exercise. At the beginning of the workout, after every three exercises there is a 15 second break, but by the end Horton just pushes through without stopping. The upper body exercises are timed, geared towards maximum reps, while the core and lower body are usually focused between 20 and 30 reps. This is followed by a 4 minute cool down and stretch.

Exercise Breakdown:

Warm up

Wide Leg Switch Hand Pushup 50 sec

Wide Leg Crunchy Frog 30 rep

Sumo Walk 30 rep

break

Plyo pushup 60 sec

Heavenly Twist 30 rep

Warrior Lunges 20 rep

break

Downward Sphinx Pushup 70 seconds

Fifer Scissor Twist 30 reps

Spin Squat 20 reps

no break

Pike Press 42 sec

Banana Boat 30 sec

Two Point Back Kicks 20 sec

no break

Negative Pushups 120 sec

Up and Overs 30 reps

Run Stance Squat Walk 30 reps

no break

Plank to Side Arm Balance 60 sec

Ish Gate 30 reps

High and Low Twist and Pivot 15 reps each side

Cool Down

Pros:

„X FLOW: I know that people will voice concerns about jumping up and down, getting the heart rate up and then hitting the floor, but I thought the workout flowed pretty well. The movement from pushups to abs felt pretty natural, and by the time the abs were over, I was ready to stand up. My heart rate stayed within a 20 point range.

„X SHORT but TOUGH: This really fills a gap in my collection. I needed a full body advanced weight workout that was short. If you used it as an add-on to cardio and skipped the warm-up and cool-down, this workout could be done in 30 minutes.

„X NO WEIGHTS: As I mentioned before, perfect for travel.

Cons:

„X UNEVEN: I found the pushups and the core work to be hard, but thought the leg work was lacking.

„X SOUND: It was too low. Every time I do this video, I forget to turn the sound back down after I¡¦m done, and then end up blasting my ears off with the next video I put in.

„X TONY: He was so goofy and over the top. At first, it¡¦s cute but he wears out his welcome quickly. Luckily, in the cues only option you don¡¦t have to hear all his silliness.

Final thought

I don¡¦t have Power 90, but I do have P90X. Because of the length, I don¡¦t think it is as hard as a P90X video, but the upper body and core exercises are pretty challenging. As I said before, the leg work feels light, but it is easy to substitute harder leg exercises. Overall, I am pleased with this purchase, and I will get a lot of use out of this video. A-