The P90X Workout Schedule – Classic, Lean, Doubles – Which is Right For You?

The P90X Workout Schedule is comprised of three separate routines. You choose where you want to start based on your physical conditioning and then just push play. The three options are broken down into Classic, Lean, and Doubles. I will give you a breakdown of each P90X Workout Schedule for those that don’t understand.

P90X Workout Schedule Options:

“Classic”

This is where most people seem to start, including myself – The Classic Workout Schedule is straight forward and offers the best combination or those ready to build muscle and burn fat as they go.

The classic workout schedule requires no more than 1 hour and a half in any one day – The longest workout of the entire schedule is Yoga X.

I chose to do classic in my first round of P90X and seemed to get very good results by sticking almost 100% to the workouts. My diet was nothing organized and didn’t follow the P90X Meal Plan. However, I did eat healthy and clean, i.e. no soda, candy, ice cream, red meats, sugars, etc. I still consume sugar but on a highly reduced level, pretty much only in my coffee – that is my one diet evil.

The Classic P90X Workout Schedule will work you out 6 days a week just as Lean and Doubles will do except you tend to focus on a mix of Cardio and Resistance training, nearly 50 / 50. It looks something like this:

  1. Monday: Resistance + Abs
  2. Tuesday: Cardio
  3. Wednesday: Resistance + Abs
  4. Thursday: Stretch / Balance (Yoga)
  5. Friday: Resistance + Abs
  6. Saturday: Cardio
  7. Sunday: Off

P90X Classic is ideal for those ready to get started from ground 0 and not looking to lose a ton of fat up front before building muscle. The above example stays true through each phase with a few resistance videos switching up to add Muscle Confusion. Let’s look at Lean now.

“Lean”

The Lean Workout Schedule will have you focusing on Cardio a lot more than resistance. This is a great place to start for those that want to focus on weight loss first and then maybe work into muscle building later on. With Lean you will be doing a lot more cardio options which in turn will burn more calories and help you drop fat faster.

I have not tried the lean approach option myself but I think it would be ideal if you wanted to condition and didn’t think you were quite ready to jump into Classic. You will need to set aside up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for your Lean routine; the longest workout is Yoga X.

A Lean P90X Workout Schedule would look something like this:

  1. Monday: Core / Cardio
  2. Tuesday: Cardio
  3. Wednesday: Resistance + Abs
  4. Thursday: Stretch / Balance (Yoga)
  5. Friday: Resistance + Abs
  6. Saturday: Cardio
  7. Sunday: Off

Notice how Monday differs from the Classic P90X Workout Schedule – You add an additional cardio / core exercise to maximize fat burning and core strengthening.

Now what’s interesting is at phase 3 of Lean you actually do workouts similar to Phase 1 of the Classic. With that said you can see how Lean is designed as a lead up into Classic and then Classic builds into what we will look at next.

“Doubles”

Alright, this is the ultimate P90X Workout Schedule and for those already in shape or already doing Classic but ready for more. You will see why in a moment. Now with Doubles you will need a lot more dedication and time, you will need to set aside up to 2 hours and 20 minutes on some days. In most cases you will wake up and do cardio, then a couple hours later or in the evening you will do resistance + Abs.

Let’s take a look at what the P90X Doubles looks like. ( Now keep in mind in Phase 1 Doubles appear to be the exact same as Classic – In phase 2 this changes by adding 3 cardio workouts each week and in phase 3 there is a significant change by adding 4 cardio workouts)

The following example is based off the Doubles P90X Workout Schedule – Phase 3. I want you to see how serious this really gets!

  1. Monday: AM – Cardio / PM – Resistance + Abs
  2. Tuesday: AM – Cardio / PM – Cardio
  3. Wednesday: Resistance + Abs
  4. Thursday: AM – Cardio / PM – Stretch and Balance (Yoga)
  5. Friday: AM – Cardio / PM – Resistance + Abs
  6. Saturday: Cardio
  7. Sunday: Off

Notice how extreme is gets? The biggest difference between Classic and Doubles is the addition of all the Cardio. The best way to compare is this – In Doubles phase 3 you’re basically doing Classic with 4 additional Cardio workouts a week. Pretty intense eh – Believe me, it is!

Well that was a quick look at the P90X Workout Schedule and the variations that occur. This is a generalized overview but was hopefully informative. Keep in mind that with P90X and Muscle Confusion your resistance days will switch up to continuously bring intensity and challenge so you never fully adapt. This is the power of the P90X Workout Schedule – Choose Yours.

  • If your new and want to lose weight fast – Do Lean.
  • If you’re seasoned and want a challenge plus muscle gain – Do Classic
  • If you’re a pro and classic is not a challenge, get extreme – Do Doubles

The choose is yours and the P90X Workout allows so many variations there is no reason why you should not be pushing play today – Take responsibility for yourself and your health, take action today!